CANADIAN ARCTIC – FRAGILE AND VULNERABLE
In the Canadian arctic and all across the country, the climate change story has been the subject of great debate across all media channels. Given the newly elected Liberal government’s efforts to make climate change a top policy priority during this new parliament, the story is even more topical than ever before.
But climate change is only one of many risks the arctic region is facing. In addition to climate change, industrial development and the increased shipping traffic across the Canadian arctic also present great peril to the arctic environment and to animals and humans who inhabit arctic lands and waters. Rapidly declining sea ice; declining populations of critical marine mammals and a changed way of life for the Inuit will only become bigger problems should the world fail to act now.
Leyland Cecco of Al Jazeera America, spent time in the Canadian arctic recently researching and writing about the perils the Canadian arctic is facingand has recently published a wonderful essay with stunning photography for all to read. At the very least, Leyland’s work gives the reader much to ponder about how human migration and development is destroying a natural habitat that is so fragile.
