The head of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, Sheila Watt-Cloutier, has said, "We find ourselves at the very cusp of a defining event in the history of this planet - The Earth is literally melting." Despite the concern of scientists and officials around the world, the Bush Administration does not want to acknowledge the problems, despite their cumulative and dire global nature

Jull, Peter

University of Queensland eSpace

Published as ‘To melt, Thaw and Resolve Ourselves’, 
Arena Magazine No. 74, December 2004-January 2005, page 21 
 
Draft for Arena Magazine, Melbourne      5-Nov-04 
 
To melt, thaw, and resolve ourselves 
 
by PETER JULL 
Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, 
School of Political Science & International Studies 
University of Queensland, Brisbane 
 
The American election delayed release of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment 
report, but its principal authors have spoken to the US Congress and its contents have 
been discussed in North American and world media.  As the Washington Post reports 
(31-10-04), ‘The most comprehensive international assessment of Arctic climate 
change has concluded that Earth's upper latitudes are experiencing unprecedented 
increases in temperature, glacial melting and weather pattern changes, with most of 
those changes attributable to the human generation of greenhouse gases from 
automobiles, power plants and other sources.)  Temperatures in the Arctic have been 
rising much faster than in low or mid latitudes. 
 
Canada’s national Globe & Mail says ‘The 1,400-page report, dubbed "the brick" by 
the more than 250 scientists working on the project, is to be released Nov. 9 in 
Reykjavik at a ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council. The council countries are 
Canada, Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Russia and the United States.’  
The report can be found at http://amap.no/acia/ 
 
Unlike the Antarctic, of course, the Arctic has permanent indigenous residents with 
rich stores of accumulated knowledge and observation of place and season, and 
languages expressing many nuances unknown among the European peoples who 
govern the nation-states which annexed their lands and seas.  These peoples fear that 
it will not only be reindeer/caribou, polar bears, and walrus who become extinct. 
 
This northern tier of peoples began to cooperate and meet as early as 1973, but the 
end of the Cold War eased and accelerated contact.  They worked hard to interest 
national governments in the qualities of the Arctic as a coherent environment and 
region linked by ocean and prehistorical cultural currents.  Eventually governments 
caught onto the idea.  America’s Arctic was primarily military-centred and even today 
Native Alaskans have to work hard at keeping governments mindful of their needs.  
On the other hand, Canada and the Nordic countries were accused of flippancy by 
some shrill American ‘friends’ when they opted to cooperate together rather than wait 
for America to become interested.  If we had been ‘realistic’ and waited, of course, 
nothing would have happened. 
 
Instead, over time the initiative of northern peoples, notably Inuit Alaskans, other 
Inuit, and Sami in Scandinavia, lured governments into the business of non-military 
active Arctic cooperation.  The Arctic Council secretariat and chair rotates among 
member states, but indigenous peoples are a second tier, Permanent  
 
But now, as The Washington Post (4-11-04) reports again, 
The Bush administration has been working for months to keep an upcoming 
eight-nation report from endorsing broad policies aimed at curbing global 
warming, according to domestic and foreign participants, despite the group's 
conclusion that Arctic latitudes are facing historic increases in temperature, 
glacial melting and abrupt weather changes.  
State Department representatives have argued that the group, which has spent 
four years examining Arctic climate fluctuations, lacks the evidence to prepare 
detailed policy proposals. But several participants in the negotiations, all of 
whom requested anonymity for fear of derailing the Nov. 24 report, said 
officials from the eight nations and six indigenous tribes [i.e., peoples] 
involved in the effort had ample science on which to draft policy. 
 
The Canadian branch of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC), the international 
Inuit organisation, published the report’s 10 key findings in its newsletter, 
Silarjualiriniq, available online.  The ten points without most of their sub-points read: 
 
1 Arctic climate is now warming rapidly and much larger changes are projected 
2 Arctic warming and its consequences have worldwide implications 
3 Arctic vegetation zones are projected to shift, bringing wide-ranging impacts 
4.  Animal species' diversity, ranges, and distribution will change 
5  Many coastal communities and facilities face increasing exposure to storms 
6.  Reduced sea ice is very likely to increase marine transport and access to resources 
(ε.γ.,  Sovereignty, security, and safety issues, as well as social, cultural, and 
environmental concerns are likely to arise as marine access increases.) 
  
7. Thawing ground will disrupt transportation, buildings, and other infrastructure 
8.  Indigenous communities are facing major economic and cultural impacts 
•         Many Indigenous Peoples depend on hunting polar bear, walrus, seals, and 
caribou, herding reindeer, fishing, and gathering, not only for food and to support 
the local economy, but also as the basis for cultural and social identity. 
•         Changes in species’ ranges and availability, access to these species, a 
perceived reduction in weather predictability, and travel safety in changing ice 
and weather conditions present serious challenges to human health and food 
security, and possibly even the survival of many cultures. 
•         Indigenous knowledge and observations provide an important source of 
information about climate change. This knowledge, consistent with 
complementary information from scientific research, indicates that substantial 
changes have already occurred. 
  
9.  Elevated ultraviolet radiation levels will affect people, plants, and animals 
10.  Multiple influences interact to cause impacts to people and ecosystems 
 
Or, as ICC head Sheila Watt-Cloutier has said, “We find ourselves at the very cusp of 
a defining event in the history of this planet… The Earth is literally melting.’  Yes, the 
permanently frozen Arctic tundra, and sea ice, are melting. 
 
Despite the concern of scientists and officials around the world, the Bush 
Administration does not want to acknowledge the problems, despite their cumulative 
and dire global nature. 
 
One may hope that Torres Strait Islanders and coastal Aboriginal peoples in Australia 
will be able to lend support to the Arctic peoples’ cause, as well as convincing 
governments at home that the Australian coasts also face problems.  While national 
and state environmental officials and other researchers do good work, stressing 
bottom-up issues and imperatives, Canberra and state capitals usually end up chatting 
among themselves.  They behave just like one would expect an industrial society to 
behave, with little or no commitment to coastal peoples apart from occasional 
unhelpful and hypocritical demands that they be more ‘self-reliant.’ 
 
*** 


To Melt, Thaw, and Resolve Ourselves

http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:10081/pj_arctic_nov_04.pdf

To Melt, Thaw, and Resolve Ourselves

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