Alaska, houses collapsing due to coastal erosion. The village and homes are being destroyed by a rising tide, to the point where homes are being abandoned as they literally fall into the ocean. Residents can do nothing to stop the water as it approaches their homes. Captions and Photo source: ©© Laurence Hislop / UNEP
Excerpts;
After a natural disaster such as a hurricane or earthquake, the U.S. government steps in with money to rebuild.
But that’s not the case for the slow-motion hazards of sea-level rise, erosion, and melting permafrost. A number of Alaska Native villages have been impacted so severely by these climate-induced threats, they have decided to relocate. Yet there is no agency designated to pay for and help implement an entire community’s move…
Northern Alaska Coastal Erosion Threatens Habitat and Infrastructure, USGS (07-10-2015)
In a new study, scientists from the U.S.G.S found that the remote northern Alaska coast has some of the highest shoreline erosion rates in the world. Analyzing over half a century of shoreline change data, scientists found the pattern is extremely variable with most of the coast retreating at rates of more than 1 meter a year.
Climate Change Takes A Village, Huffington Green (12-16-2014)
Climate Impacts in Alaska, EPA
Over the past 50 years, temperatures across Alaska increased by an average of 3.4°F. Winter warming was even greater, rising by an average of 6.3°F. The rate of warming in Alaska was twice the national average over that same period of time. Average annual temperatures in Alaska are projected to increase an additional 3.5 to 7°F by the middle of this century…
Erosion doubles along Alaska’s Arctic coast, USGS (02-18-2009)
Moving to Higher Ground (After 12,000 years), A Video from Great Big Story (03-11-2016)
The Quinault Indian Nation has lived in what is now Washington State for thousands of years. But, it’s time to move. The tribe lives on the coast, and climate change has caused sea levels to rise and endanger the village. As the tribe moves to higher ground, it’s bittersweet, since a new home also means moving off sacred ground…
The First Official Climate Refugees in the U.S. Race Against Time; National Geographic(03-27-2016)
Escaping the Waves: a Fijian Village Relocates, a Video (10-03-2015)
“When many understand climate change in concept but not through personal experience, this exhibit carries great weight…”
