Students on Ice Blog

The following blog about the Arctic was written by Ashley Tufts, SOI Alumnus (Antarctica ‘04/Arctic ‘05) from Iqaluit, Nunavut, and Member of the Canadian Youth Delegation to COP15 currently taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark. (http://en.cop15.dk/)

Ashley Tufts (Antarctica ’04/Arctic ’05).

The Arctic

by Ashley Tufts
Member, Canadian Youth Delegation to COP15

December 10, 2009

“The Arctic is a highway. The tree limit, the scarcity of trees, freed people to walk. Particularly in the wintertime. Which connected people physically, communicatively. And mythically. The long nights of winter free people to tell. And to listen…” – Nils-Aslak Valkeapaa. (Quote taken from a poster in the Arctic tent, Copenhagen, Denmark).

In an attempt to define the Arctic, we have constructed limitations and have imposed boundaries; excluding and including aspects in which we believe adequately reflect our conception of “the Arctic”. While this discourse is not confined by its geographical delimitation, our knowledge and perception of the Arctic has been defined mainly in terms of its environment and physical geography. However, the Arctic is more than just a relative concept of space. It is a place where approximately 4 million people in eight different countries call home; Russia, the United States of America, Canada, Denmark – Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. It is a region where historic realms continue to influence societal structure and ways of life. The Arctic is one of the most vulnerable ecosystems in the world where global climate change threatens to alter cultures, environments, landscapes, and traditional ways of life.

While at the Arctic tent a few days ago, a researcher from Norway (whose name I can not remember) referred to the Arctic as a “barometer for global climate change”, and it is exactly that. The consequences of reduced snow and ice cover raise global concern for our ocean sea levels; if the Greenlandic Ice sheet alone melts, ocean levels will raise 7m! Over 50% of Canada’s permafrost is at risk of thawing in the near future, threatening infrastructure and potentially releasing significant amounts of carbon dioxide. As the Arctic is warming at a much quicker rate (some suggest more than 4 times the rate in other regions in the world), the climatic impacts in Arctic communities and environments will be viewed globally and set a guide for the rest of the world.

The Arctic is a wild, exotic and unknown frontier to many, but to those of us who were born and have lived there all of our lives, it is the place where we call home. There are no empty lands waiting to be conquered, we do not have infinite supplies of resources which can be exploited for southern benefit, and there is no room for large oil tankers or fishing vessels. What there is, however, is a region that needs to be protected by a legally binding treaty on climate action. A region that, without a reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions, will suffer irreversible changes. The Arctic is a place where indigenous societies have survived for thousands of years. It is an area of incredible diversity in terms of language and cultures. The Arctic is where memories and stories are innumerable, a place where character is built, challenges were overcome, and experiences abound. The Arctic, is where I call home.