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Scientist Urges Alaskans To Share Their Climate Change Stories To Promote Environmental Justice

Dr. F. Stuart "Terry" Chapin III, University of Alaska, Fairbanks in April 2008 presenting a seminar titled "Social-ecological Sustainability in a Changing World: Concepts and Policy Strategies to Address Climate Change in Alaska."
University of Alaska Fairbanks

One of Alaska's most senior scientists advised a largely Alaska Native audience that if they want to have an impact on climate change policy, they need to find and tell their stories. 

In a keynote speech at this year's Alaska Forum on the Environment, Terry Chapin, a Professor Emeritus at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, pointed to the extent that climate change is hitting the Arctic as a kind of opportunity for Alaskans.

“Here is where it's happening most clearly,” said Chapin. "So I think Alaska has some really important opportunities to provide national and international leadership.”

Chapin showed charts and maps that documented how hard climate change is hitting the state. but didn't spend much time on them. What he most wanted to talk about was another pair of maps.

“On the left you can see the map of the ecosystems of Alaska. On the right you can see the maps of the language groups of Alaska, and you can see that these two maps are almost identical. And that's not surprising,” said Chapin.

“Because for thousands of years,” Chapin continued, “people in different language groups, different cultures have lived in their ecosystems, adapted to those ecosystems, and know how to live effectively in those ecosystems. What I've been telling you is that the ecology of all of these areas is changing and changing rapidly. For me, this is the biggest environmental justice issue that we're facing in Alaska.”

Chapin pointed to severe ecosystem shifts and the way subsistence resources are being affected. He said the way to get the word out about these things is to employ storytelling skills that Alaska Natives already possess.

“We can tell stories about social and environmental justice, where issues such as climate change, or regulations, or other things are constraining the ways in which changes can be made,” said Chapin.

As an example, he cited the relocation effort for Newtok. Chapin said many more communities could benefit from the lessons already learned by the people of that community.

“Newtok has done a great job of beginning to find ways to navigate this,” he said. “They organized a land swap with the Fish and Wildlife Service. They work with a whole consortium of state and federal agencies through the Newtok Planning Group, and they're finding ways to navigate the rules that exist in place. And I think they provide an excellent example of how this kind of thing can be done and probably have excellent suggestions of how it could be done better.”

Chapin went on to talk about reducing energy demand, reflecting local values in the educational system, and mobilizing church groups around the social justice aspects of climate change. But above all, he said, it is the people of Alaska who must begin initiating things on their own.

“We can't afford to wait until someone else fixes the problem. The problem is real. The problem is here. It needs to be addressed urgently.”

One example he gave of seizing the initiative was the Lower Kuskokwim School District's effort to make it easier for local teacher's aides to gain certification as teachers. It was one of many. 

“Depending on what our skills, passions, networks, and the things we care about might be, I invite all of us to just get it done,” said Chapin as the room rose in applause.