Elders, Hunters, and Scientists Agree on Climate Impacts to Food and Water FORT YUKON, AK—Indigenous leaders from throughout the United States gathered last week to talk about the climate crisis and its impact on food security during a three-day Indigenous Climate Summit in Fort Yukon. “Our traditional hunters and scientists tell us that the climate […]
At last week’s launch of World Bank’s Climate-Smart Mining Facility, NRDC elevates importance of place and community, citing reckless Pebble Mine as poster child for “wrong mine, wrong place.” Last Wednesday in Washington, D.C., I was pleased to attend a gathering at the World Bank accompanying the launch of its climate-smart mining initiative—a public-private initiative based […]
On April 22, more than 1 billion people in 192 countries are expected to take part in a global day of political and civic action for the Earth. People will march, plant trees, clean up their cities, parks, beaches and waterways, politicians will announce policies, and corporations will pledge to work toward sustainability — […]
NOAA scientist Bryan Thomas stands outside the Barrow Atmospheric Baseline Observatory. How does the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere measured at Hawai‘i’s Mauna Loa volcano over the last six decades compare with the air above Alaska? During a recent spring trip to Utqiaġvik, I had a chance to find out by visiting the […]
The forces shaping Alaska never sleep, especially near Yakutat. I visited the fishing town of about 800 people and many dogs a few years back. My assignment was to write about scientists studying Hubbard Glacier, which slammed the door on Russell Fiord in summer 2002, creating the largest glacier-dammed lake in the world for a […]
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a notice Thursday of its intent to sue the National Marine Fisheries Service to compel the designation of critical habitat in Alaska for two ice seal species. Both bearded and ringed seals are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act because their Arctic sea-ice habitat is melting. “As […]
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his week marks 30 years since I turned my pickup left onto a North Pole road and noticed the clutch pedal did not return to my foot. In a panic, I reached down with my mittened hand and pulled. The frozen plunger oozed back into position. Driving at minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit is not a […]
Current international climate policies do not take into account full effects on global climate The weather these days is wild and will be wilder still within a century. In part, because the water from melting ice sheets off Greenland and in the Antarctic will cause extreme weather and unpredictable temperatures around the globe. A study […]
[dropcap]S[/dropcap]eventy percent of the current infrastructure in the Arctic has a high potential to be affected by thawing permafrost in the next 30 years. Even meeting the climate change targets of the Paris Agreement will not substantially reduce those projected impacts, according to a new study published in Nature Communications. “Much more needs to be […]