Developing countries aren’t the only ones to be threatened in a big way by climate change. Tuesday I attended a session hosted by the Commissioner of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation about the situation of indigenous tribes in north western Alaska.

Alaska is home to 90,000 indigenous people, out of a total population of 686,000. Many live in extremely remote villages (on the order of 60 miles from the nearest community). They rely very heavily on the natural environment for their lives; during winter, the sea ice which accumulates around their settlements protects them from the dangerous storms frequent during these months. The permafrost is also very important, as it provides structural support for their buildings, and allows them to refrigerate perishables. And because of the remoteness of the communities, there is virtually no safety net for the people if the natural environment betrays them.

Frighteningly, the US government predicts that areas of northern Alaska will experience temperature increases of above 6F by 2060. Already the US government has identified 31 of these communities that are experiencing the effects of melting sea ice and rising temperatures. The government has begun adaptation strategies for four of the most severely affected communities, building rock revetments and planning for relocation. (1)

It’s interesting to examine the response of the United States to climate change within its borders. To protect each of these Alaskan communities of several hundred people, the government is spending over $18 million just on adaptation strategies. Eventually, with rising temperatures, these communities will need to be relocated completely, to the tune of at least $100 million each. (This includes the relocation and construction of new infrastructure, schools, and utilities.)

It was very thought provoking, listening to the commissioner talk about the monetary and technical resources being spent for these few communities. If millions of dollars are being spent for only thousands of people, how much will have to be spent for the rest of us? Currently, the US Army Corps of Engineers has been shouldering the technical responsibilities of the projects. But how will our technical capabilities be stretched by the burden of an entire country in danger?

And what about the countless communities in countries who’s governments have neither the technical resources nor the funds to support their citizens?

(1) http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2006/1206alaska.shtml

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 12:25 pm and is filed under Climate Change for Tiny Tim (A Christmas Carol) by Claire. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.