Zoomed-In Climate Models Help Alaska Communities Plan for Uncertain Future
Special thanks to InsideClimateNews.org for letting us post this excerpt by Amy Nordrum Hunters in the Alaskan village of Wainwright, a community of about 550 Inupiat Eskimos at the lip of the Chukchi Sea, have long harvested bowhead whales from the ocean. Each spring, crews of 15-25 hunters set out in umiaqs—boats made from seal skins and caribou sinew. The hunters usually launch from Point Belcher, where the ice cracks open to expose the water in slivers called “leads.” Then the whalers follow these narrow channels to the sea. They may land whales as long as 55 feet, but a young…
Starfish Horror Show on PBS Newshour
Like something out of a ecological horror film star starfish are literally tearing themselves apart. A disease that has yet to be classified causes the starfish arms to twist and then rip away from the rest of the body allowing its insides to pour out. Scientists are currently researching what may cause it. Before you go screaming Fukushima read this article from DeepSeaNews.com – it’s been happening long before that. Studies so far believe that there is likely a viral connection. The disease, whatever it is, effects many different types of starfish, though doesn’t seem to spread through close contact. A…