Melting Sea Ice Puts Alaskan Village Into a Quandary
Here’s a story about a small town in Northern Alaska whose 650 citizens are currently voting whether or not to relocate, as the melting of the sea ice due to climate change is allowing the incoming waves to erode their land at an ever-increasing pace.
Now, my wife (pictured) has urged me not to write so many depressing posts, and, since I (almost) always do what she suggests, I need to find a positive spin to put on this. Let me think about that for a moment or two….
OK, how about this? At worst, there are only 650 climate refugees associated with this particular story. But at the same time, many millions of people each year are getting the message that mitigating climate change is an important—and urgent—matter. What happens when public opinion on the subject achieves a “critical mass?” I would like to believe that humankind will find a way to cooperate, as required to save their planet from devastation.
There. That should put a smile on her face…..
Poor old Eric the Red who lived Ericsfjord, Greenland in 996 AD, had just the opposite problem. Each winter his farm froze more and the ice shelf kept growing larger.
Eventually, by 1350 his decendants decided to relocate to EDenmark. It took 600 years before his farm, town and settlement grew warm enough for his descendant, Claus Andreasen, to return and excavate old Eric’s farm ‘Brattahlid’, just near the Chapel he built for his wife Thjodhilde.
Thjodhilde who didn’t like Eric’s gloomy old fatalistic Norse religion, and preferred more cheerful Christianity. ! (so nothings changed 🙂
( Eric’s son Leif Erikson could be said to be the first European Canadian)
Look on the bright side, the local home builders will begetting some much needed work.