Scientists Link Climate, Energy To Growing Arctic 'food Insecurity'

摘要

For generations, caribou have been central to the diet and culture of the Naskapi people who live on the tundra of northeastern Canada. But when researcher Archana Bali visited last summer, they told her that warming weather and increased mining have driven the caribou so far off of old migration routes that their meat staple is in short supply. According to researchers at the recent annual meeting of the AAAS Arctic Division, the Naskapi's struggle reflects a broader pattern: Unpredictable weather, shrinking sea ice, and soaring fuel costs are making hunting and fishing more difficult for people long accustomed to living offthe land. As a result, food supplies in many Far North communities are increasingly at risk. "I've worked with people, both in the interior and on the coast, who say, 'I don't have the money to put fuel in my boat to go searching for food,'" said Philip Loring, an anthropologist at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks (UAF). "I'm talking to people who say: 'I'm worried about having enough food for the winter.'"