Tuesday

Global warming in Alaska

The Guardian is running a powerful series on the impact of global warming on life in the indigenous villages in Alaska. Nearly 200 are under threat - that's a threat of washing away:
A study by the US Army Corps of Engineers on the effects of climate change on native Alaskan villages, the one that predicted the school would be underwater by 2017, found no remedies for the loss of land in Newtok.
The land was too fragile and low-lying to support sea walls or other structures that could keep the water out, the report said, adding that if the village did not move, the land would eventually be overrun with water.

The second screenshot shows the extent of Arctic sea ice melt. Climate change is happening fast in Alaska - in addition to villages at risk, animal habitats are changing. The series continues tomorrow.

Update, May 15: See this article in Scientific American about the possible impact of sea level rising along the East Coast: the five foot rise in sea level over the next century will mean that a storm of Sandy's impact could occur much more often.

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