Kivalina, a tiny island off of the coast of Alaska, will be completely submerged in water by the year 2025.
Climate change is set to impact everyone on our planet.
Kivalina, a tiny island off of the coast of Alaska, will reportedly be completely submerged in water by the year 2025. That means its residents will soon earn the dubious distinction of being the first US citizens whose home was wiped out by climate change.
The 400 Inuit people who live there sustain their livelihood by hunting and fishing, a task that’s become increasingly difficult as a result of significant changes already occurring.
Most detrimental is the shrinking ice cover. The protection it once provided the shoreline has gone, resulting in significant land erosion.
Early melts have also resulted in seasonal ice thickness problems. This past spring, the surface broke early and refroze to a fraction of its normal depth.
Whale and seal hunters were unable to safely take their boats across it and for the first time in decades, there were no bowhead whales caught.
Living on Kivalina wasn’t the resident’s choice to begin with. They were reportedly relocated there in 1992. Anyone who refused was threatened with imprisonment.
Now, if the government doesn’t provide the 400 million dollars required for relocation, the community must figure out how to move itself to yet another place.
Climate change is set to impact everyone on our planet.
Kivalina, a tiny island off of the coast of Alaska, will reportedly be completely submerged in water by the year 2025. That means its residents will soon earn the dubious distinction of being the first US citizens whose home was wiped out by climate change.
The 400 Inuit people who live there sustain their livelihood by hunting and fishing, a task that’s become increasingly difficult as a result of significant changes already occurring.
Most detrimental is the shrinking ice cover. The protection it once provided the shoreline has gone, resulting in significant land erosion.
Early melts have also resulted in seasonal ice thickness problems. This past spring, the surface broke early and refroze to a fraction of its normal depth.
Whale and seal hunters were unable to safely take their boats across it and for the first time in decades, there were no bowhead whales caught.
Living on Kivalina wasn’t the resident’s choice to begin with. They were reportedly relocated there in 1992. Anyone who refused was threatened with imprisonment.
Now, if the government doesn’t provide the 400 million dollars required for relocation, the community must figure out how to move itself to yet another place.
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