January 2007 - Arctic Coast of Alaska
The journey begins on the Arctic coast of Alaska where retreating sea ice has caused severe coastal erosion to occur. The villages of Shismaref, Kivalina, and Wales are eroding away. The retreat of the pack ice has serious consequences on the entire Arctic ecosystem: walrus, ringed seals, beluga whales, seabirds, and fish are impacted. Open water means more stormy seas, and these erode even more ice and make subsistence hunting for all coastal peoples impossible.
Open water anywhere in the Arctic means there is no albedo effect: solar heat is no longer radiated back into space. The seas warm up. Marine ecosystems are changed. Ice acts like the lid on a pot: it keeps the storm-tormented seas contained. Without ice, the coasts are battered by wind waves and unseasonable storms. The entire villages of Shismaref and Kivalina are being moved.
Accompanied by a renowned Alaskan artist, Joe Sennungetuk, a native of Wales, Alaska, we will stay in his home village, then travel to nearby communities to see and hear how the climate crisis is effecting their subsistence lives and rich cultural traditions.
