Population on Alaskan Island Faces 'Dire' Situation
2022-11-07
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1The Alaska Native village of Shishmaref sits on the sinking barrier island Sarichef in the Chukchi Sea near the Bering Strait.
2The island lies between the United States and Russia, where it is increasingly threatened by the effects of climate change.
3The village is home to about 600 members of the Inupiat People.
4They live simply, without running water and other modern technology.
5Rising sea levels, flooding, increased erosion and loss of protective sea ice and land is a huge concern for the villagers.
6Some want to leave.
7In fact, the community has voted in support of proposals to resettle elsewhere.
8Yet, more than six years after the last vote, Shishmaref remains in place.
9The planned move costs more than the village can pay.
10So, the community carries on toward a troubling future.
11The villagers continue their traditions.
12They celebrate birthdays, baptisms and school graduations.
13Their lives center on their homes, the local school and one of the world's northernmost Christian churches.
14Aaron Silco leads the local Lutheran Church.
15He called the concern about the shrinking land and floods "too much of a burden" for the community.
16He said if the villagers think about climate change too often, it will hurt their ability to live their lives.
17It will take away from things such as birthday parties, funerals and sporting events.
18"There is still life happening," Silco said.
19Rich Stasenko agrees.
20He moved to Shishmaref in the 1970s. He calls the community "resourceful" and "resilient."
21"I don't see victims here," he said.
22In the 30 years since 1992, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association says temperatures in Alaska have gone up by 1.4 degrees Celsius.
23That area of the Arctic had been warming twice as fast as the rest of the world.
24Now it is warming three times faster.
25The island already does not have much space where people can live.
26It is only about five kilometers long and 400 meters wide.
27It used to be protected by a large layer of ice that is melting.
28The lack of ice means more flooding and more problems from storms.
29The sea is reclaiming the coast.
30About 14 homes had to be moved inland in 2002.
31There are many towns in Alaska like Shishmaref that are having problems due to warming weather.
32Most of the people that live in the small towns are native people who are related to the first people to live on the islands.
33The U.S government's accountability office says climate change is expected to make their problems worse.
34Lloyd Kiyutelluk is president of the local tribal council.
35"I'm scared that we will have to move ..." he said.
36He does not want the government to say the situation is "an emergency ... but the way things are, we're getting storms that we've never seen before."
37Government leaders warned that the island would have a problem during a storm in September.
38Officials said it could bring the worst flooding in 50 years.
39As the storm moved through the Bering Strait, it cut electricity, destroyed an important road and flooded a human waste treatment center.
40Molly Snell, 35, talked about the storm.
41She said she hoped the village would not be forced to evacuate.
42"The right storm, with the right wind could take out the whole island," she said.
43She said the island is more "vulnerable" due to climate change.
44Over time, the community has changed its ways.
45However, the people of Shishmaref have not contributed much to climate change.
46Most of the greenhouse gases to blame are produced by populations in Europe and continental North America.
47Elizabeth Marino calls that situation an example of "climate injustice."
48Marino is an anthropologist, or an expert on humans and their communities.
49She studied the people of Shishmaref and wrote a book about her findings.
50I'm Dan Friedell.
1The Alaska Native village of Shishmaref sits on the sinking barrier island Sarichef in the Chukchi Sea near the Bering Strait. The island lies between the United States and Russia, where it is increasingly threatened by the effects of climate change. 2The village is home to about 600 members of the Inupiat People. They live simply, without running water and other modern technology. 3Rising sea levels, flooding, increased erosion and loss of protective sea ice and land is a huge concern for the villagers. Some want to leave. 4In fact, the community has voted in support of proposals to resettle elsewhere. Yet, more than six years after the last vote, Shishmaref remains in place. The planned move costs more than the village can pay. 5So, the community carries on toward a troubling future. 6The villagers continue their traditions. They celebrate birthdays, baptisms and school graduations. Their lives center on their homes, the local school and one of the world's northernmost Christian churches. 7Aaron Silco leads the local Lutheran Church. He called the concern about the shrinking land and floods "too much of a burden" for the community. He said if the villagers think about climate change too often, it will hurt their ability to live their lives. It will take away from things such as birthday parties, funerals and sporting events. 8"There is still life happening," Silco said. 9Rich Stasenko agrees. He moved to Shishmaref in the 1970s. He calls the community "resourceful" and "resilient." 10"I don't see victims here," he said. 11The problem 12In the 30 years since 1992, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association says temperatures in Alaska have gone up by 1.4 degrees Celsius. 13That area of the Arctic had been warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. Now it is warming three times faster. 14The island already does not have much space where people can live. It is only about five kilometers long and 400 meters wide. It used to be protected by a large layer of ice that is melting. The lack of ice means more flooding and more problems from storms. The sea is reclaiming the coast. About 14 homes had to be moved inland in 2002. 15There are many towns in Alaska like Shishmaref that are having problems due to warming weather. Most of the people that live in the small towns are native people who are related to the first people to live on the islands. 16The U.S government's accountability office says climate change is expected to make their problems worse. 17Lloyd Kiyutelluk is president of the local tribal council. 18"I'm scared that we will have to move ..." he said. He does not want the government to say the situation is "an emergency ... but the way things are, we're getting storms that we've never seen before." 19Government leaders warned that the island would have a problem during a storm in September. Officials said it could bring the worst flooding in 50 years. As the storm moved through the Bering Strait, it cut electricity, destroyed an important road and flooded a human waste treatment center. 20Molly Snell, 35, talked about the storm. She said she hoped the village would not be forced to evacuate. 21"The right storm, with the right wind could take out the whole island," she said. She said the island is more "vulnerable" due to climate change. 22Who is to blame? 23Over time, the community has changed its ways. However, the people of Shishmaref have not contributed much to climate change. Most of the greenhouse gases to blame are produced by populations in Europe and continental North America. 24Elizabeth Marino calls that situation an example of "climate injustice." 25Marino is an anthropologist, or an expert on humans and their communities. She studied the people of Shishmaref and wrote a book about her findings. 26I'm Dan Friedell. 27Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. 28________________________________________________________________________ 29Words in This Story 30erosion -n. the gradual destruction of something by natural forces such as wind and water 31baptism -n. a ceremony that makes a person a member of the Christian church 32graduation -n. the act of receiving a diploma from a school, college or university 33church -n. a building used for Christian religious services 34burden -n. something difficult to manage, accept or deal with 35resilient -adj. able to become strong again after something bad happens 36layer -n. a piece of material that lies on top of or below something else 37council -n. a group of people who are chosen to make rules, laws or decisions about something 38evacuate -v. to remove someone from a dangerous place 39vulnerable -adj. easily hurt or harmed 40contribute- v. to help to cause something to happen 41______________________________________________________________________ 42We want to hear from you. Do you think the people on the island will eventually leave? 43We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 44Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.