Historical meeting has hot topic

Alaska has seen a lot of changes in recent years. Temperature increases, sea ice melting and glaciers retreating at an accelerated rate, record-breaking fire seasons, tropical species and diseases making an appearance, and more violent storms are just a few examples.

“And they’re all brought to us thanks to global warming,” said Debra Williams, president of Alaska Conservation Solutions and the guest speaker at Saturday’s semi-annual meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Historical Association.

Williams focused much of her talk on Alaska, which she said was “ground zero” for witnessing the affects of carbon dioxide and methane emissions. She explained that since Alaska has heated more than anywhere else in the country, the state is the “melting tip” of the iceberg.

“The rapid retreat of Alaska glaciers represent 50 percent of the estimated mass loss by glacier through 2004 worldwide. Alaska alone has also contributed nine percent to sea levels rising,” she said.

If this trend continues, Alaska may lose or have to relocate coastal communities such as Barrow, Shismaref, Kotzebue and many others.

Global warming may also result in the Arctic Ocean being ice-free in summer by 2040, which Williams said is bad news for the Inuit people who live a largely subsistence lifestyle in the area. Global warming also would affect a diversity of wildlife species — such as polar bears, seals and walruses — that make this critical area their home, even more so than it already does.

“We’re already seeing the affects. Never before have adult polar bears been found that starved to death or drowned. Not in the records of scientists or in the oral tradition of indigenous people. Never have polar bears cannibalized other polar bears the way we are seeing males kill and eat females and their cubs in the den. Never before until now,” Williams said.

The affects of global warming also can be seen on the Kenai Peninsula, she said. Williams cited studies that determined sockeye salmon fry in Skilak Lake are 60 percent smaller than average due to increasingly silty water caused by rapid glacier melting. She also cited studies that determined trees and shrubs are growing in areas where core samples have revealed they haven’t grown for 14,000 years, and that tree line has gone up three feet a year for the last 50 years, which is causing alpine habitat loss that affects wildlife species such as caribou, sheep and mountain goats.

“That’s all been documented right here on the Kenai Peninsula, right here in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge,” she said.

Despite the very serious problems global warming has caused throughout Alaska, Williams’ presentation was not all doom and gloom. She said solutions are available that can reduce the problem, but she said “the time to act is now.”

Williams said global warming can be fought on the individual level by making a simple changes around the home, such as using compact fluorescent lights in stead of incandescent ones, unplugging appliances that are not in use and making sure car tires are fully inflated.

Williams said global warming also can be fought on a national and international level by encouraging local, state and federal politicians to address the problem and take actions against it.

Several Kenai Peninsula Historical Association members in attendance Saturday said they enjoyed Williams’ presentation.

“The message of global warming is getting out there to the young people, but I though it was worthwhile to get this message to this age group, too,” said Marge Mullen, of Soldotna.

“It’s a difficult subject, but necessary to understand because of how important it is,” said Katherine Parker, of Soldotna.

For more information, visit the Alaska Conservation Solutions Web site at www.alaskaconservationsolutions.com.

Joseph Robertia can be reached at joseph.robertia@peninsulaclarion.com.