Page 40 - 200712 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - December 2007

40 Global Warming In The News 40 Global Warming In The News Scientists Warn about haulouts. interview. "We can't predict the weather any Scientists Warn about He said the animals only started Rapid Arctic Melt Due Rapid Arctic Melt Due appearing on shore for extended periods in the more, so it's very difficult to plan our hunting. It puts a lot of stress and fear into our to Global Warming late 1990s, after the sea ice receded. communities." to Global Warming "The reason is the global warming," Similar threats are faced by the Continued from Page 39 Continued from Page 39 Kochnev said. aboriginal people of the Western Arctic, who The reports match predictions of what depend on caribou as their main source of food. "We still have the power to choose our might happen to walruses if the ice receded, said "Over the last few years, the caribou have been fate, and the remaining question is only this: wildlife biologist Tony Fischbach of the U.S. very unpredictable," said Cindy Dickson, a Have we the will to act vigorously and in time, Geological Survey. member of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation in or will we remain imprisoned by a dangerous "We were surprised that this was a remote corner of the Yukon. illusion?" said Al Gore during his Nobel Peace happening so soon, and we were surprised at the "Their migration routes are all over the Prize lecture. magnitude of the report," he said. map," she said. "It has led our people to go up During the Bali climate talks Thursday, Scientists said the death of so many river, down river, sometimes hundreds of miles, he also said that the recent data revealed that walruses — particularly calves — is alarming in to look for the increasingly elusive herd." climate change would affect the current itself. But if the trend continues, and walruses Aboriginal leaders were not consulted generation as well, not only the future no longer have summer sea ice from which to when the Kyoto treaty was negotiated in 1997, generations. dive for clams and snails, they could strip but they are insisting that they must be "It is up to us in this generation to see coastal areas of food, and that could reduce their consulted in future negotiations on how to cope clearly and vividly exactly what is going on," numbers even further. with global warming. urged the Nobel Peace Prize winner and climate No large-scale walrus die-offs were seen "We bring a unique knowledge to these campaigner. in Alaska during the same period, apparently discussions," said Patricia Cochran, an Alaskan because the animals congregated in smaller Inuit who is chairwoman of the Inuit Thousands of Pacific groups on the American side of the Bering Circumpolar Council. "We have to make sure Thousands of Pacific walruses are killed in Strait, with the biggest known herd at about that our voice is heard." walruses are killed in 2,500. Because of global warming, Inuit people stampedes; global Indigenous people no longer feel safe travelling on ice where they stampedes; global travelled for centuries, and some Inuit warming is blamed describe real perils of communities are sliding into the sea, forcing warming is blamed their relocation to new sites, Ms. Cochran said. "It's a very frightening thing for all of us. ANCHORAGE, Alaska: Thousands of global warming It's the loss of our culture and livelihood. How Pacific walruses above the Arctic Circle were GEOFFREY YORK can we remain intact as aboriginal people?" killed in stampedes earlier this year after the Globe and Mail Dave Porter, a Kaska Dene leader from disappearance of sea ice caused them to crown northern British Columbia, came to Bali to tell onto the shoreline in extraordinary numbers, December 14, 2007 at 4:23 AM EST: delegates that his people are under massive deaths some scientists see as another alarming NUSA DUA, INDONESIA — Indigenous pressure from a climate-induced infestation of consequence of global warming. people, including Canadian Inuit and Indian the mountain pine beetle. The deaths took place during the late leaders, are emerging as some of the top stars of "We are faced with our greatest threat summer and fall on the Russian side of the the Bali climate-change conference. ever," he said in a speech to a conference side Bering Strait, which separates Alaska from From the Arctic to the South Pacific event. "The area of dead trees in British Russia. islands, indigenous people said they are among Columbia is the size of Portugal or South "It was a pretty sobering year — tough the first to suffer the worst effects of global Korea. It rivals the destruction of the Amazon on walruses," said Joel Garlach-Miller, a walrus warming. and Indonesian rain forests. More than 100 First expert for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They drew connections between the Nations communities are directly impacted. If Unlike seals, walruses cannot swim planet's north and south, describing how the the epidemic eats its way across Canada, the indefinitely. The big, tusked mammals typically melting glaciers in the Arctic are jeopardizing impacted communities could be in the clamber onto the sea ice to rest, or haul the existence of small island states in the thousands." themselves onto land for just a few weeks at a Pacific, and how severe ocean storms are Because winters are not cold enough to time. imperilling people in both regions. kill the beetle infestation, millions of hectares of But ice disappeared in the Chukchi Sea When the indigenous leaders spoke at a pine trees have died, Mr. Porter said. this year because of warm summer weather, side event at the Bali conference this week, the "It dwarfs any other insect epidemic ocean currents and persistent eastern winds, room was packed with a standing-room-only ever seen before in Canada. The interior of Garlach-Miller said. audience of environmentalists and others. The British Columbia is now filled with immense As a result, walruses came ashore earlier leaders also spoke at other conference events, regions of dead and dying forests, creating a and stayed longer, congregating in extremely giving accounts of how global warming is massive tinderbox just waiting for a spark to high numbers, with herds as big as 40,000 at threatening their traditional ways of life. literally set it ablaze. Left unchecked, this Point Shmidt, a spot that had not been used by Arctic aboriginal villages are facing erosion, devastation could spread through Canada's walruses as a "haulout" place for a century, fragile ice is endangering their hunters, caribou boreal forests from coast to coast, a distance of scientists said. herds are at risk from shifting weather and nearly 9,000 kilometres." Walruses are vulnerable to stampedes severe storms are becoming more frequent in For centuries, aboriginal people were when they gather in such large numbers. The the north and the south, they said. able to adapt to the environment, he said. But appearance of a polar bear, a hunter or a low- "Some Inuit have already made changes they have never faced anything like the current flying airplane can send them rushing to the to the traditional times of the year which they threat. "Now in a very short period of time, the water. travel on the land," said Violet Ford, a Canadian industrial society has put us at risk." Sure enough, scientists received reports Inuit leader from northern Labrador and a vice- of hundreds and hundreds of walruses that died president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council. of internal injuries suffered in stampedes. Many "Some find themselves collecting their of the youngest and weakest animals, mostly winter wood and other supplies in the spring For A Complete Look At UFOlogy calves born in the spring, were crushed. when they only used to do so in the fall. Why? Throughout The Ages Visit Biologist Anatoly Kochnev of Russia's Because the fall freeze-up is later and more Pacific Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography dangerous." estimated 3,000 to 4,000 walruses out of The shifting climate is interfering with www.bibleufo.com population of perhaps 200,000 died, or two or ancient hunting patterns, Ms. Ford said in an three times the usual number on shoreline