Coastal Alaskans face physical, cultural erosion

[YankeyMCC]

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It's a dilemma taking on a new urgency as the effects of climate change escalate in a region many consider a harbinger of global warming. Erosion and flooding are nothing new here, but communities are increasingly vulnerable to melting permafrost and shorter periods of the shore-fast ice that historically protected them from powerful storms.
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About 370 miles to the north, the relocation cost would be even steeper for Shishmaref, an Inupiat Eskimo village of 600 located on a narrow island just north of the Bering Strait. Estimates run as high as $200 million to start from scratch with new infrastructure -- or about half that amount to move residents to the coastal hub towns of Nome or Kotzebue.

Ultimately, multimillion-dollar projects to protect or move a few isolated people must be justified, especially after Hurricane Katrina. But it is not the government's role to bankroll the entire cost of building a community, officials said.
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Being absorbed into another culture, even one only 100 miles away, could amount to cultural death, exposing residents to urban ills including alcohol, which is banned in Shishmaref and other dry villages. Residents fear the subsistence lifestyle their traditions and economy rely on would fall off, pushing them to welfare.
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(sorry if this is a dupe, but I don't see my original)

This article caught my attention for the report on the problems the climate change is creating for people Right Now.

But there is a lot more here, including the problems we create by complicating our lives, the costs associated with technology dependance, the erosion of ancient native cultures, the challenges possed to native people and how to raise their children.

And on the climate change theme, if it is costing $150-200M to move a small remote villiage imagine how much it'll cost to move 40% of Bangladesh, or what happens when the US East coast is facing rising sea levels?

Edit, added link: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/12/27/coastal_alaskans_face_physical_cultural_erosion/

[bahrbearian]

1. Link Please

I'd like to read the whole article.

[YankeyMCC]

2. fixed nt