Wonderful Climate Change Editorial

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/042507/opi_20070425024.shtml

Web posted April 25, 2007 My Turn: Time to act against climate change
By KATE TROLL
With the latest report from the International Panel on Climate Change, there is no more pussy-footing around it; greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are creating ecological, economic and social challenges around the world, including Alaska, which is ground zero for global warming.
Warming here in Juneau? With all the snow and the late spring, it hardly feels like global warming. But it is. One of the major symptoms of climate change is more extreme and unpredictable weather patterns. That's why the term "climate change" is a better descriptor of what's going on than global warming.
In Alaska, we hear about climate-change problems everyday. Alaska's northern communities are seeing beach erosion, deep permafrost thaws and receding ice. All this wrecks havoc on infrastructure. In Anchorage, officials report shifting weather patterns are disrupting air travel, a significant issue for such an important transportation hub.
Changes in climate patterns and rising temperatures have caused a significant increase in the frequency of wildfire and intensity, as well as an unprecedented increase in insect outbreaks that increase fuel loads. Alaska witnessed record-setting fire seasons in 2004-05, burning more than 11 million acres and costing more than $160 million to battle. On the Kenai Peninsula and around Anchorage, the spruce bark beetle has cost millions in property damage.
Across rural Alaska, traditional hunting patterns are disrupted as animal movements shift in response to the changing climate. In Bristol Bay, unfamiliar weather patterns and the early arrival of marine mammals are throwing the annual fishing and hunting cycles off. Lake Iliamna is freezing later and later, making travel difficult. Low-lying towns are suffering increased floods, as with Koyukuk's recent floods within the 100-year flood plain.
Commercial and sport fishing, two of Alaska's economic mainstays, are taking hits, too. Temperatures in Kenai Peninsula streams now consistently exceed Alaska's standard to protect salmon-spawning areas. Diseased salmon are common in the Yukon River. The Bering Sea is seeing lower crab productivity as more Arctic ice melts each year. In Southeast Alaska, the 2006 pink-salmon harvest was dramatically lower than expected due in large part to the warm temperatures of 2004, when the parents of the 2006 season would have been affected.
Finally, Gov. Sarah Palin and the Legislature are giving us glimpses of hope and of economic opportunity. Palin's choice to create a climate change sub-Cabinet position to address ways to reduce our contribution to the problem and mitigate its effects is visionary and sensible. This, with the renewable energy development fund (House Bill 152 and Senate Bill 96) currently being considered in the Legislature, will provide some essential tools to address this pressing challenge. These efforts will enable Alaska to join the ranks of other states actively charting a course to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
It is important to note that many other states found policies addressing climate change were not a burden on commerce. Instead, they presented economic opportunities. Some states are using action on climate change to position themselves in new markets related to climate action: producing and selling alternative fuels, attracting high-tech businesses and selling carbon-reduction credits. Even BP is looking at climate change as a way to make money.
Alaska can do all this and more. Though we are, sadly, the poster state for climate change impacts, we can also be global leaders in finding creative and ingenious ways to work toward solutions, develop renewable energy technologies and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There is much to be gained from taking on this challenge.
As Alaskans, we pride ourselves on our ruggedness and our ability to get any job done, no matter how tough. We walked the path to statehood, figured out how to build the oil pipeline, and now climate change is that next grand challenge calling for the best from Alaskans. The time to act is now; let's pass the Renewable Energy Fund before the Legislature heads home in May and get Palin's climate change sub-Cabinet rolling.
• Kate Troll splits her time between Juneau and Anchorage. She is the executive director of the Alaska Conservation Alliance.

Editorial from a "Mother"

by: Lori Fickus Daily Newsminer 4/21/07

Earth Day is time to consider our future
On April 12 and 13, the legislatively appointed Alaska Climate Impact Assessment Hearings were held in Anchorage. I traveled south with a group of mothers -- Mothers for Alaska -- from around the state concerned about climate change to give testimony to the commission about the impacts we are experiencing.
Mothers can be a powerful collective force when advocating for their kids. Both of my children are born and raised in Alaska and are being directly affected by the adverse changes in climate. The last three summers I've had to take my kids out of state to escape the threatening air quality in Fairbanks, caused by wildfires decimating Interior forests.
We should not have to go to Seattle to hike and ride bikes. I'm sensing a threat to my children's future safety and quality of life. I am compelled to act.
Mothers for Alaska members are experiencing dramatic changes in our communities, such as forest fires, insects killing millions of acres of our trees, threatened animal populations, flooding, severe erosion, and loss of lifestyles.
These alterations to our ecosystem will have the most impact on our children and future generations. Like a mother polar bear, we moms have an inner mechanism to protect our young from harm. We sense a pending crisis that will negatively alter the quality of life for our children, and we cannot help but take action to defend them.
Mary Sage, a mother from Barrow, testified, "My husband hunts whales, seals and walrus to provide food for our family. How fast will the ice melt? What will we feed our families? Our concerns are real. Our cultural traditions, our livelihood, our way of life is at stake."
With Earth Day this Sunday, we need to pause and reflect on what is at risk. The planet will adapt, but it's the future generations we must consider.
Shelly Morgan of Anchorage told commission members, "Like a child who cares for an elder, we must care for our Mother Earth who is suffering the consequences of our actions. The ball has been set in motion and we cannot stop the chain of events that have already been set. It is up to us now to stop the ball from rolling any further, understand the current and predicted impacts and work to mitigate these damages and abate future impacts."
My hope is that the commission listened intently to what the Mothers for Alaska told them and then will report back to legislators the urgency of this crisis.
Alaska should not pose passively as the global warming poster child.
Instead, Alaska should move forward as an innovative leader on the issue. It should set an example of leadership for the nation, for the world, and protect this place with legislation, corporate and individual action, and utilize Alaska's vast resources of renewable energy opportunities. Our members of Congress must support bills that have the strongest emissions regulations and caps and continue to introduce renewable energy legislation like Sen. Lisa Murkowski's REFRESH Act of 2007.
Global warming is the result of an extreme excess of carbon emissions from human activities. We need to reduce these emissions to slow it down and reduce the harmful effects. Scientists tell us there is still time to act.
This Earth Day, start locally with your family. For you parents, here is a list of 10 things to do as a family to begin to save ourselves:
Drive less. Walk or bike with your kids to do your errands.
If you must drive, carpool.
Pack a waste-free lunch. Use reusable containers, utensils, cups and cloth napkins.
Buy fewer plastic toys.
Shop garage sales and thrift stores.
Make it a habit from an early age to turn off the lights and electronics when not in use.
Use the library, the ultimate in reuse.
Replace regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs in bedrooms to save 150 pounds of CO2 emissions each year.
Support companies that are creating change and practicing carbon-reducing business methods.
Teach by example. Frequently write and call your government representatives, supporting climate change and renewable energy legislation.
Making changes to lessen your carbon emissions is not about losing your comfort level; it's about a smarter, healthier, and money-saving lifestyle. Start at home with your family, but it is urgent to also tell your community, state, and federal government to proceed promptly on this issue.
Take action.
Create solutions.
Generation to generation -- what will your legacy be?
Lori Fickus lives in Fairbanks.

Anchorage Testimony by Mothers for Alaska

testimony by: Rita Buck Alaska Climate Impact Assessment Hearings

Climate Change issues

Rita Buck, mother, grandmother, subsistence user
White Mountain, Alaska
04/06/07


Winter/snow comes later—Dec or Jan.
River freezes in November—used to freeze first week of Oct.
Perma frost is melting---easier to dig holes in the summer—we dug a new outhouse pit at
camp and there was no ice in July like there normally used to be
Fish come in June, used to come in July after 4th of July
Salmon berries ripe earlier now in July—used to pick in August, last summer the salmon
Berries cooked in their “pods”
Blue berries too
The river is getting lower and changing course. With the perma frost melting the river
Banks are eroding.

Our river is showing more red-salmon….never used to see any.
Seeing more fog in the fall and spring
Seeing different birds and bugs

Mother's testimony from Climate Hearings

(photo L to R: Hazel Apok, Kotzebue, Dixie Hutchinson - KNBA radio, Hannah Loon, Selawik. Mothers for Alaska members Hazel and Hannah gave a wonderful radio interview before testifying at the Climate Hearings.

Testimony of:

Ms. Hannah Paniyavluk Loon
Climate Change
April 2007


Hello, my name is Hannah Paniyavluk Loon, born and raised in Selawik, Alaska, a large village of about 850 plus residents. I am a part-time Rural Development student with the University of Alaska, a mother of three children ages 29, 28, and 21. I am currently employed by the NANA Regional Corporation as a Shareholder Relations Liaison, based out of the Red Dog Mine.

I thank the planners for allowing Mothers of Alaska to speak to the Commission on Climate Change and to the federal agencies and invited guest speakers. My family and I hunt, fish and gather from the land and we provide for many elders and neighbors. As hunters and gatherers, we are outside most of the time. We are keen observers of our natural world and have noticed a change in the climate over the past 10 years.

The land, small sloughs, small willow valleys, lakes, and the game that lives in them are what sustain our daily living in Selawik. We also rely on migratory birds that come to feed and breed on the wetlands of the Selawik River drainage.

I interviewed Mildred Foster, chair-woman of the Selawik Elders Council. She is a high harvester of white fish and pike. These are her comments about climate change:

“For the last five years, my brother and my family went to camp to harvest white fish and much to our dismay and disappointments, the processed fish did not dry and all have been given to families that have dogs. We had one long net and two short nets to catch fish. We filled several drying racks filled with fish we had cleaned and cut to dry. There were approximately 30 or more fish in each rack.

To do this, we brought our tent, wood stove, nets, food, and bedding and spent one and a half week to check the nets, clean, and fillet to dry the fish. We brought the fish home and hung under our storage fish racks to dry more. It rained for such a long time and the fish did not dry properly. Instead, it all went to waste because it was not fit for human consumption.

We experienced this for five years. Not only our family was affected, but also those who depend on us to give them fish. They live in Buckland, Kotzebue, Fairbanks, Shungnak and Anchorage.”

When asked about other changes she observed, she commented:

“As soon as the ice goes, we have to rush to gather fish from our nets while there are no bugs. I also observed that when we check our nets in the morning in late June, the water is already too warm, so the fish dies and decays in the water from the sun’s heat. These fish also go to waste and are not fit for human consumption.

Blueberries do not grow like before; my daughter had to travel far above Selawik River to pick blue berries. I went to Shungnak to pick blueberries.”

Selawik people need gas to start off their gathering and have sold a Ziploc bag of white fish for $13 per bag and $17 per bag for dried pike. One Ziploc bag of salmonberries goes for $25 or $250 for a 5 gallon bucket. This serves as an economy for the residents and provides for those who have no means to go out, primarily the elders. Otherwise, most of what we do gather is shared with family and friends as we have for centuries.

Mildred also stated that there is water already between Kiana and Selawik, a narrow pass where the Kobuk 440 mid-distance dog race plans to travel on. This is a winter trail for Selawik and Kiana residents. Also, there is water on the mouth of the Buckland River drainage and on the Selawik River drainage. Signs like these make travel by snow machine very dangerous.

Two years ago, we lost 2 young girls and one male adult who fell under the ice near the village. They fell under the ice that was always considered a solid area in the past, but wasn’t. The people we lost were merely hunting for geese just a bend away below Selawik River about 1 mile. They had no reason to believe the ice would not hold them as it always had before. This sad incident also left an elderly woman with no hunting provider.

This fall, my cousin, Emma Ramoth asked me to cut up fish in my house and hang them in the furnace room which I did. I asked myself and my daughter, is this adaptation for us to do regarding climate change? When our fish do not dry in fall due to abnormal heavy rains, do we change to cutting our fish in the house and later hang them outside?

I thank you for listening and hope our concerns will make a difference in your deliberations to make our environment safe to travel, and harvest game how we used to in the past. Please educate us and provide information about climate change that is easy to understand. Although we are few in number, we are willing to make simple changes to conserve electricity and fuel as a statement to the rest of the United States about their personal responsibility to reduce the amount of gas emissions to the environment.

Pease visit us in the villages and hold hearings on about their observations of climate change. We are extremely concerned and want to hear what is going on.

Again thank you for listening to Mothers for Alaska and hearing our plea for understanding and willingness to work with you to preserve our ways.

Plastic Bag Bill

by: Lori Fickus

State Senator Kim Elton, D-Juneau, has sponsored Senate Bill 118, which would place a .15 cent fee on plastic shopping bags. The Bill Title reads: an Act establishing a fee for disposable plastic bags distributed by retail sellers of goods or services to consumers to carry away or protect goods; and establishing the litter and marine debris reduction and recycling fund.

The fees collected from the Act would go into a recycling and litter clean up fund. Elton's statement on the bill gives insight into a problem that many consumers don't consider when shopping, " Globally we consume almost 1 million plastic bags per minute or 500 billion annually. The USA consumes 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually - equal to about 12 million barrels of oil. US retailers spend an estimated $4 billion on disposable plastic bags annually, the cost of which is passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices."

This tragedy of convenience must be stopped. These plastic wonders are made from oil, and they are not biodegradable, that means they sit in our landfills and break into smaller and smaller pieces leaching plastic into our soil and water. They also get into the animal food web. Senator Elton's statement also tells us, "Each year, more than 100,000 marine mammal deaths can be attributed to ingesting plastic bags mistaken for food. The plastic bags choke the animals or block their intestines. A Barrow hunter reports a polar bear barfing up plastic bags.

Paper or plastic? So how do you haul your groceries home? The Sierra club recommends a reusable bag. They tell us on their website, "The energy and other environmental impacts embodied in a plastic grocery bag is somewhat less than in a paper grocery bag. But paper is easier to recycle, being accepted in most recycling programs. The recycling rate for plastic bags is very low. So, which is better for the environment? Neither! The fact is that the difference between paper and plastic RECYCLING is small compared with the REUSING bags." In Fort Yukon, their community store does not offer plastic bags, and each resident uses a cloth bag or alternative method to pack home their supplies.

Contact your representatives in support of SB 118!

Arctic Energy Summit

Arctic Energy Summit Link

Mary Sage, Barrow, sent in this link http://www.institutenorth.org/servlet/content/activities.html

The Summit will bring focus to the areas of developing resources while addressing the need for affordable energy in rural areas throughout the Arctic.

Check it out!

Alaska Climate Change Impact Assessment Testimony

This is the testimony from one of the "Mothers for Alaska", Shelly Morgan. More to come...

April 12, 2007

Tim Benintendi, Legislative Staff
Rp. Ralph Samuels, House Majority Leader
AK Climate Impact Assessment Commission
State Capitol #204, Juneau, AK 99801-1182


Dear Commissioners:

Thank you for your work on the Climate Impact Assessment Commission and thank you for accepting my testimony (both written and verbal). My name is Shelly Morgan. I live in Anchorage, Alaska with my two year old son, Robert Morgan. I am writing today on behalf of myself, my son, future grandchildren and Mothers for Alaska.

The signs of climate change are much more apparent in Alaska than in many other places. In Anchorage, I witnessed the lightening storms a few years ago, where we had more lightning during one year than in the previous thirty years. Outbreaks of spruce bark beetle have been linked to warmer climates, making a problem for our forests, changing our landscape dramatically and leading to more dead wood ready to catch fire during lightning storms and ready to spread quickly with wind. The fires on the Kenai Peninsula in recent years left me hiding inside with my doors and windows closed, due to asthma induced by excess smoke inhalation.

I am concerned that my son and his future children and grandchildren will not experience the glaciers, which are rapidly melting. I worry that invasive species, both aquatic and terrestrial, will quickly adapt to the warmer climate in Alaska, and replace our native species, transforming our wilderness and changing the wild Alaska we know and love. It saddens me that the Fur Rondy events which are a big part of Alaska’s history, fun for children and adults, and a boost to the winter economy are losing ground due to climate change. Last year, the snow sculptures melted before judging day and it was impossible to identify the winning sculpture. The Iditarod re-start keeps moving north because we don’t have enough snow year after year. This is a shame.

The impacts of climate change are even more obvious and devastating in rural villages across Alaska. It is critical that we look to the people of these communities to truly understand these impacts. The people of these villages have the traditional knowledge of what subsistence living, weather patterns, and species migrations and assemblages have been like for many generations. It is the people of these communities that truly can speak to the changes observed today. It is imperative that this traditional knowledge is given equal weight to the data collected over recent years and the climate change models predicting future patterns. We must look to the people across Alaska who hold this traditional knowledge and work together to solve the problems caused by climate change.

Like a child who cares for an elder, we must care for our Mother Earth who is suffering the consequences of our actions. The ball has been set in motion and we cannot stop the chain of events that have already been set. It is up to us now to stop the ball from rolling any further, understand the current and predicted impacts and work to mitigate these damages and abate future impacts.

Alaska is known for the theme “North to the Future”. Let’s make certain Alaska truly lives up to this phrase and leads the way in renewable energy developments. We must harness the solar and wind energy that we have in such abundance and direct our resources to expanding sustainable energy production for use by all Alaskans.

Sincerely,
Shelly Morgan

Ten ways your family can save the planet

COMPASS: POINTS OF VIEW FROM THE COMMUNITY

LORI FICKUSCommentary

The legislatively appointed Climate Impact Assessment Commission held a public hearing in Fairbanks in December 2006. I heard commission member Caleb Pungowiyi of Kotzebue request personal stories of how global warming is affecting Alaska communities, and I was stirred to respond to his request. I began thinking of ways to get those stories to the commission.

I began by looking at what demographic I represented. I am a stay-at-home mom, and mothers can be a powerful collective force when advocating for their kids.My daughter is a beautiful Yupik teenager whose family ties originate in Kalskag. My son is the great grandson of the late chief of Arctic Village, Moses Sam. Both of my kids are born and raised in this state and are directly affected by adverse changes in climate. The past three summers I've had to take my kids out of state to escape the threatening air quality in Fairbanks caused by wildfires decimating Interior forests. I am sensing a threat to my children's future and quality of life, and I am compelled to act.

I decided to gather a small group of mothers and grandmothers from around Alaska, Mothers for Alaska, who are concerned about climate change and future generations. We answered Mr. Pungowiyi's call for more personal narratives at the commission's public hearings yesterday and today in Anchorage.Mothers for Alaska members are experiencing dramatic changes in our communities, such as forest fires, insects killing millions of acres of trees, threatened animal populations, flooding, severe erosion and loss of lifestyles.These alterations to our ecosystem will have the most impact on our children and future generations. Like a mother polar bear, we moms have an inner mechanism to protect our young. We sense a pending crisis that will damage our children's quality of life, and we cannot help but take action to protect them.

What kind of future will our youth face? What will it have to offer if we do nothing? Will generations to come be able to subsist from the Chukchi Sea? Will they hike the backcountry of the Interior? Will they be able to fish in the Yukon River? Will tourists still come to the Southeast?

My hope is that the commission will listen intently to what the Mothers for Alaska can teach them and then report back to legislators the urgency of this crisis. Alaska should not pose passively as the global warming poster child. Instead, it should move forward as an innovative leader. It should set an example for the nation, for the world, and protect this place with legislation, corporate and individual action, and utilize Alaska's vast renewable energy opportunities. Our senators in Washington, D.C., must support the strongest emission regulations and caps and renewable energy legislation.Global warming is the result of an extreme excess of carbon emissions from humans. We need to reduce these emissions to slow it down and reduce the harmful effects. Scientists tell us there is still time to act.

Start locally in your home with your family. For parents, here is a list of 10 things to do as a family to begin to create change.

* Drive less; walk or bike with your kids to do your errands.

* If you must drive, car pool.

* Don't leave your car running while waiting in line to pick up your child from school.

* Pack a waste-free lunch. Use reusable containers, utensils, cups and cloth napkins.

* Teach kids to compost kitchen scraps.

* Buy fewer plastic toys.

* Shop garage sales and thrift stores.

* Make it a habit from an early age to turn off the lights and electronics when not in use.

* Use the library -- the ultimate in reuse.

* Replace regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. They save you money, and have a cool shape the kids will love.

Making changes to lessen your carbon emissions is not about losing your comfort level; it's about a smarter, healthier and money-saving lifestyle.

Take action.

Create solutions.

Generation to generation, what will your legacy be?

Beluga whales rapid decline; Whalers agree to cancel hunt

This article was submitted by Mary Sage in Barrow, Alaska.

Hunters and agency agree to cancel beluga whale hunt

COOK INLET: Numbers here diminishing while other populations are stronger.

By JEANNETTE J. LEE, The Associated Press

Published: April 17, 2007

Fifty years ago, a whale hunter in Cook Inlet could counton spotting the bulbous white heads of a beluga pod after a half hour or less on the water.But with the whales' rapid and mysterious disappearance,local hunters can be out in the swirling currents and swifttides for three times as long before a pod swims into sight.The population is now so low that Alaska Native whalers,who have chased belugas for generations, agreed Monday to cancel their annual hunt for the third time in nine yearsat the request of the National Marine Fisheries Service.The agency is expected to decide this week whether to declare the animals endangered.

You can read the full story online at:http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/wildlife/marine/story/8801511p-8702735c.html