Alaska villagers say they see evidence of Arctic warming

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Alaska villagers say they see evidence of Arctic warming

Associated Press

Thursday May 31st, 2001

FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Native Alaskan villagers along the Arctic Ocean already

see evidence of climate changes every day that support the notion that

global warming is well under way, a Native representative told a

congressional hearing.

The sky isn't as blue as it used to be, obscured frequently by a strange

white haze, said Caleb Pungowiyi, a Yupik Eskimo from Nome and a special

adviser on Native affairs with the Marine Mammal Commission.

The shrinking ice cap is forcing marine mammals and other sea life away from

shore, so hunters must travel farther, he said.

Because the protective pack ice forms later and softer, storms that batter

the coast eat great chunks of land away around Barrow and the villages of

Kivalina, Point Hope and Shishmaref.

" These are changes that have gone unnoticed by the policymakers and

scientists, " Pungowiyi said.

Pungowiyi was among witnesses that included prominent Arctic scientists and

federal administrators.

They testified at a field hearing Tuesday of the Senate Appropriations

Committee, chaired by Sen. Ted s, R-Alaska, on the need for more

research into warming of the Arctic.

The Arctic - among the least studied regions in the world - is the first

place on the planet to feel the effects of climate change, the researchers

said.

Understanding what is happening there is key to understanding global climate

changes.

The Arctic is experiencing warming now, as evidenced by the steadily

shrinking polar ice cap and melting permafrost, the researchers said. But

scant weather stations, inaccessibility and difficult conditions have put

off data collection for decades.

" I believe it's crucial that we do that, " said Dan Goldin, head of the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. " We at the federal agencies

need to look at changing our priorities and put more of an emphasis here. "

Several researchers said current climate changes likely stem from a

combination of factors including natural variation and human activity.

" We don't know whether this change is part of a cycle or is following a

long-term, possibly irreversible trend, " said Rita Colwell, director of the

National Science Foundation.

Scientists agree that the world's temperature rose by 1 degree Fahrenheit in

the last century, an increase unprecedented during the last 1,000 years. The

Arctic warmed as much as 7 or 8 degrees in that time, Goldin said.

The pack ice that normally insulates coastal villages from winter storms

shrinks 3 percent a year, as it has since the 1970s, scientists said. Arctic

sea ice is 40 percent thinner than it was 30 years ago, while snow melts in

Barrow 40 days earlier in the same time period.

s carefully stepped around any reference to global warming, still a

controversial topic in Alaska, where the economy is heavily dependent on oil

production.

" I don't endorse or denounce the concept, " he said. " I'm still in the

process of finding out what's going on. "

s steps down next week as chairman of the Appropriations Committee, as

the Democratic Party takes its place as a majority party.

However, he pledged to keep the issue of Arctic climate change a priority

for funding as he serves as ranking Republican member of the committee.