Welcome to COOL PLANET, the climate blog with a difference: The authors here have been providing solutions to climate change for years. There have been a lot of lessons learned. We look forward to sharing them – ours, and yours – here, as another step toward a COOL PLANET.
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Clean Air-Cool Planet
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Portsmouth, NH 03801
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by George Milner
Senior VP – Energy, Environmental, and
Government Affairs, Mohawk Fine Papers
There is growing media attention to the number of corporations quitting the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over the group’s stand on climate change. Our company recently made the decision to terminate our membership because we felt the organization was taking an untenable position that was inconsistent with the philosophy of Mohawk Fine Paper. Frankly we believe that the Chamber’s strong opposition to legislation aimed at reducing carbon in the atmosphere is just plain out of touch with the experience of corporations across the nation who have successfully cut their emissions, reduced their energy consumption and as a result are riding out the recession in a better position than their competitors.
As a company in a traditional smokestack industry we find that many observers are surprised to learn that we have a long history of sustainability, of reducing our environmental footprint, long before it became fashionable. It is one of the areas that sets us apart from others in the papermaking business, and it goes back to the O’Connor family that founded the company in 1931. One of our five core beliefs is the pursuit of the highest standards of environmental stewardship and sustainable practices.
Over the years Mohawk has undertaken a number of pragmatic steps to increase energy efficiency, conserve resources and eliminate waste. More recently we have sought out independent advice from the non-profit groups like CERES and Clean Air-Cool Planet for recommendations on greening our power purchases, eliminating carbon in the supply chain, developing messaging to key stakeholders, purchasing offsets and advice concerning the risks and opportunities of federal legislation.
Today as a bill to address climate change emerges in Washington, we are in turn helping our Congressmen and Senators understand the complex issues faced by energy intensive businesses and the need for policy that levels the playing field and provides incentives to companies who develop and implement pragmatic solutions while addressing the root cause of climate change. Congress needs to demonstrate leadership to other nations and we believe that legislation is a more effective way to deal with this crisis than having the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulate emissions through the Clean Air Act.
Mohawk favors an economy-wide approach regulating carbon at its most efficient point, coupled with a well designed cap-and-trade system which would include the price ceiling and price floor that Senators Kerry and Graham mentioned in their October 10, 2009 New York Times op-ed to protect businesses and individuals against price spikes. We would also favor returning the revenues of such a cap-and-trade system to consumers, believing that is most fair to consumers as well as helpful to the overall economy.
In our industry, progress is incremental. Whether it’s investment in modern equipment/machinery to meet the needs of our customer base, or compliance with the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts, the paper mills that survive today in the U.S. have done so by making smart decisions. As an industry leader we see the move toward taking responsibility for our environmental footprint as a natural evolution in assuring that we will continue to be competitive on a global scale. Over the past decade we have achieved double-digit reductions in energy consumption per ton of product produced. The subsequent savings finance continuing investments in water and energy conservation, as well as manufacturing efficiency.
We’ve demonstrated to ourselves that making more with less is indeed a self-sustaining process. Mohawk Paper is encouraged by the growing support for climate legislation from the business community, and by the willingness of firms to reach out to their elected representatives on both sides of the aisle to come together on a measure that would send a clear message to the market, provide incentives to transformational technology and help bring about the behavior change needed to move America toward a low-carbon future.
Mohawk Fine Papers is North America’s leading producers of printing and writing papers, with two manufacturing facilities based just north of Albany, NY and a third in Hamilton, Ohio.
Emily Rocheleau
By Emily Rocheleau
Hip-Boot Tour Organizer
Clean Air-Cool Planet
Over the past two weeks, Clean Air-Cool Planet has been on the road donning hip-boots and playing in the water – ok, we’ve been working, too! A team of leading scientists joined us for the “Hip-Boot Tour,” to share emerging science on how glacial melting due to climate change will impact coastal communities.
In collaboration with local groups in Portland ME, Hampton NH, Philadelphia PA, Norfolk VA, Wilmington NC, and Miami and Tampa/St. Petersburg FL, we held a series of coastal community roundtables and outreach events designed to bring the latest science in sea level rise and ice sheets to officials and citizens on the US east coast – where over three feet of sea level rise is now considered likely if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced. Our presenters included:
Bob Bindschadler, NASA
Gordon Hamilton, University of Maine
Jim White, University of Colorado
Mark Fahnestock, University of New Hampshire
Asa Rennermalm, Rutgers
The conversations were lively, as the scientists and CA-CP representatives explained the implications of the emerging science. “The climate is changing, and sea level is rising; this we know with certainty,” Jim White bluntly explained to an audience of 40+ in Norfolk. “Unfortunately, you are on the front lines,” White added.
Before an audience of over 200 in St. Petersburg, Gordon Hamilton shared stories about glaciers breaking apart right before his eyes in Greenland. “At first we thought we had the wrong coordinates for our intended destination on the glacier, and then we realized that it had simply receded 5 kilometers from the previous year,” Hamilton recounted about one of his recent trips to Greenland. While each presenter had a different story, they all shared the same message: climate change is causing glaciers to melt and sea level to rise, and it is happening quickly. CA-CP representatives helped to answer questions about what communities can do to plan for sea level rise, as well as how we can shape national policy to reduce greenhouse gases so we don’t make the situation worse.
Using a number of props – hip-boots, blue tape, a hula hoop, and a piece of Mylar – I helped demonstrate to participants and press what the newest estimates for sea level rise really look like. It was a good thing I was wearing hip-boots, because at 1 meter the water was at my waist – and at 2 meters it was easily over my head! There’s nothing like making a fool of yourself for a good cause. The visuals were powerful for participants and press alike. We also had high-resolution maps made for each city, which showed flooding inundation for the various sea-level rise estimates. Looking at the maps, participants pointed out what homes, airports, hospitals, and historical landmarks are most vulnerable; a message of severity and urgency resounded.
Moving forward, CA-CP will be taking this message of urgency to the halls of Congress in Washington D.C. In the next few weeks, our team of scientists will join us in D.C. to meet with members of Congress, and to brief their staff on this emerging science. As the U.S. Senate continues to discuss the climate bill, it is essential that the latest science be considered, including the impacts of predicted sea level rise on U.S. coastal communities.
You can view the full Hip-Boot tour schedule, biographies of the presenters, map images, press clips, and other materials on our website.
By Bob Sheppard
COO & Director of the Business Program
Clean Air-Cool Planet
Last week I spoke at a three-day workshop featuring 50 employees from the multi-national consumer goods conglomerate Unilever PLC. When Clean Air- Cool Planet was founded, no one could have imagined that a business with $40.5 billion in sales would bring top divisional managers from across North and South America to learn about sustainability and pragmatic solutions to climate change, but then this is no ordinary firm. In September the company was named Food & Beverage sector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the 11th consecutive year!
It is encouraging to be in the company of executives grappling with a range of complex issues (the global sourcing of raw materials including water use, biofuels, packaging and end-of-life-cycle to name a few), but there are also small companies out there, often unknown outside their region, who are earning considerable respect for their actions, while inspiring other firms who aspire to a low-carbon existence.
Our first contact from Oakhurst Dairy was a 2001 cold call from someone in the accounting office who had some questions about their energy bills. Following a series of phone calls over the next few weeks, we had a meeting with the company’s President at his office in Portland, Maine, to discuss the benefits of making a voluntary commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions based on an enterprise-wide assessment of their energy consumption. Over the years, Clean Air – Cool Planet played a role in reviewing their carbon footprint, introducing them to people who were knowledgeable about energy efficiency opportunities, biofuels and renewables. When Oakhurst was singled out by one of their largest customers, Wal-Mart, for being at the forefront of addressing the carbon emissions within the dairy sector, the impact of our five-year relationship really began to sink in.
In 2007, Clean Air – Cool Planet recognized the leadership of New England’s largest independent dairy with a Climate Champion Award in part for their decision to set an aggressive target to reduce carbon emissions from their operations 20% by 2010 based on 2005 levels. They are also part of an industry-led collaboration examining ways to reduce emissions from cows by altering their diet, introducing renewables on the farm to burn methane or take advantage of the sun, since that portion of the process is responsible for as much as 80% of emissions from every gallon of milk consumed by Americans.
Oakhurst Dairy is living proof of the impact that a 240-person firm can make. By announcing three major projects, Oakhurst not only inspires other small businesses, but in effect lays down a challenge to others as well. The firm is purchasing one of the nation’s first hybrid diesel-electric trucks which will deliver refrigerated milk products within a 70-mile radius of the plant. If the new vehicle lives up to expectations it will use 30-50% less fuel than the existing fleet, which translates into 52,000 pounds of avoided CO2 emissions annually. Next, the dairy will retrofit 25 of its long-range semi-trailers with aerodynamic side skirts, which redirect the flow of air to boost efficiency by 6-8%. That means that brightly painted Oakhurst truck that you pass on a New England highway will be part of a fleet that is working to reduce carbon pollution by more than 7 million pounds annually.
Finally, the Bennett family, who manages the dairy, flipped the switch on a new solar PV array atop a distribution center in Waterville, Maine. This latest project joins a solar thermal array that pre-heats water used in bottling products in Portland, making Oakhurst one of the largest owners of solar energy systems in the state. Despite decreases in energy prices, this investment makes sense from an economic standpoint. When prices for oil and natural gas rise (which economists agree is only a matter of time), it will reduce the payback period, leaving the company in a more positive cash position in comparison to its competitors who continue to rely on imported fossil fuels.
So, to Oakhurst Dairy, who continues to set the standard on climate change, that it’s good business and good for business, I raise a glass of 1% milk – Cheers!
Anne Stephenson
By Anne Stephenson
Campus Outreach Coordinator
Clean Air-Cool Planet
Anne fills us in on the last leg of her bicycle voyage to the Washington, D.C. with Brita Climate Ride.
Well, I’m cheating a little and finishing this blog on day 6. I’m with Amanda in Pennsville New Jersey and I have to say I am SO MUCH BETTER at typing on her laptop than I am on my IPHONE.
Here’s what I have to tell you all:
with half-a-dozen D.C. based carbon management consultants who first gained valuable low-carbon management experience doing climate action planning on campus. Josh Lasky (now at Cadmus) started the sustainability office at GWU and knows far more about the calculator than I do. Asher Burns-Burg (now at ICF) was one of many Middlebury alums on our ride who were part of the team that created such an aggressive climate action plan there. Anyway, I’ve said it before but I really mean it – these projects at colleges and universities remain the best (and frankly one of the only) ways that students can get carbon management experience. Alums of the calculator and this work like Josh and Asher are in really high demand in the private sector! I left the ride thinking that the Fellowship program is truly one of the most important things we can do as an organization. And that Claire, Jenn, and I, as well as the rest of the campus sustainability community, will have to work hard to ensure that students and courses remain central to the climate action process as more and more consulting firms undertake CAPs for schools as contract work.
Anne Stephenson
By Anne Stephenson
Campus Outreach Coordinator
Clean Air-Cool Planet
Anne has joined Brita Climate Ride, a five-day, 300-mile fundraising bike ride from New York City to Washington, D.C., which began on September 26. Anne has graciously provided us with updates on her journey so far.
Day One
The ride this morning through Manhattan was excellent. I loved it. Apparently Lexington Avenue is open for bikers and runners every Saturday in the summer. How great is that? The ferry ride to New Jersey was also very scenic. I only sang the theme song from Working Girl to myself a little bit.
I met some exceptional people today – Michael from World Bank, Alex from Rider University, and so many more. While it is great that we’re a beneficiary and events like these build a lot of awareness, the best part for me is to meet so many other professionals in the field who are on the ride.
Night One
All is well. I enjoyed my first day and spread the good word about our fellows despite having only one coffee approximately twelve hours ago. Take infrequent access to coffee as a true sign of my dedication to the cause. Jason Kowalski, alumni of Middlebury College and policy analyst at 1 Sky, is here and sends enthusiasm to everyone. More or less everyone here is in the field. There’s a lot of diversity in age, size, and ability. It’s so much more fun and low-key than I had anticipated.
We heard from Ben from Climate Central who presented some compelling new ways to visually represent climate change. He had one depicting the U.S. with all of the states gone from a sea level rise equivalent to the current ice sheets . . . the East coast to the Great Plains, entirely gone. Jason K gave a great lecture on climate legislation. How amazing that he’s launched a great career from his climate action planning work at Middlebury! It rained all night but I successfully slept in a tent I pitched myself. I stayed dry except for the water bottle I spilt on myself!
Day Two
It rained all day today. It was super rainy and hilly at the beginning so we were a little slow. We were in beautiful horse country but I didn’t do much sightseeing. We have these amazing directional devices on our bikes that say things like “Mile 42.4. Turn right on Lower Mountain Rd.” They’re great but mine got wet and mushy at the start, resulting in a few wrong turns. It was no big deal but when I managed to get a dry one and stick it in one of the Ziplock bags my mom thought I needed (smart lady!) the mileage on my odometer didn’t match. Again, no big deal, but I had to do simple math for the rest of day – what’s 52.4 plus 1.9? Tough to figure out while dodging potholes and such . . . I’m building muscles and brain power!
I met the girls from Rider University working on their Climate Action Plan. They came to cheer us on and tell riders about their green team at one of our water stops. I ate lunch with Kristin and Isabella, a mother-daughter team on a tandem who are going fast!
I also talked today with Eliot May from reverb.org about including climate action planning workshops in their tour. We could have a seat in the waste vegetable oil bus and visit 15 campuses on their annual April tour. Wouldn’t that be fun? This could also be a good new take on climate action planning. Sometimes green teams get stressed about their reduction targets because of barriers and such. It would be powerful to combine workshops with a fun and much anticipated tour.
I had a lovely time in Valley Forge but was glad to get to Phoenixville.
I popped a tube in the camp parking lot which was goofy but easily fixed with Erin’s help from the Environmental Defense Fund. She does communications for their climate group and is a super-pro bike fixer. She also managed to ride all day in Keds not clipped in. I’m totally amazed.
David Kroodsma spoke today. He bicycled from California to the tip of South America, then flew to the east coast of the United States and biked back to California, from 2005-2007. He has a book and a funny movie about his trip, which covered 12,000 miles. The photos are incredible and I hope we can all read the book.
I’m woefully ignorant on South American climate projections. I’m learning a lot on this trip!
That makes forty miles for today. Now we’re at Princeton for a great lecture.
Day Three
Today was a little hilly and rainy, and very windy, but also a lot of fun. We are staying at a Mennonite camp and slept in bunks last night . . . very warm and dry. They also had a Zipline which I did for the first time. I’m feeling very proud of myself. My friend Josh took a photo so I can prove I did it.
I’ve continued to learn a lot from my fellow riders. Brent runs pick up for a carpooling website that’s really cool. It is designed primarily for special events, like getting folks to carpool to U2 concerts. They can also set up special groups for university carpooling. This way, for example, faculty and students post on separate forums.
Watch for more posts from the road as Anne makes her way to Washington, DC.
By Krista Macomber
Communications Assistant
Clean Air-Cool Planet
Children are impressionable. They soak up everything that is going on around them. During this stage, they form habits and opinions that can stick for the rest of their lifetime. The coal-industry group Families Organized to Represent the Coal Economy (FORCE) is apparently trying to capitalize on this.
I’d first like to acknowledge that, despite its name, FORCE is not actually comprised of families. As stated on its website, FORCE is for “Any Pennsylvania company doing business with the coal industry” and membership is “through coal and coal related company sponsorship.”
That being said, FORCE has released what The Daily Grist accurately described as “a wonderfully crappy coloring book for children,” “Eyes for Frosty.” From the quality of artwork right down to content, this book was clearly not created by a family organization with the best interest of children at its heart. To put it lightly.
“Eyes for Frosty” is the tale of three children who are building a snowman but have no coal for its eyes. The day is saved by Power Rock, a scary-looking superhero made out of coal, and his trusty little sidekick, Spurt.
Power Rock and Spurt take this opportunity to give the children a history of coal, explain how it is mined (completely disregarding mountaintop removal, you might notice), and show how important what it powers is (Video games! Yay!). With their job complete, Power Rock and Spurt then take off into the abyss, leaving the children with not only eyes for Frosty, but also a newfound appreciation for coal.
Now, this coloring book (or should we call it propaganda?) fails to mention that, if our current rate of coal consumption continues, there will be no more Frosty. Power Rock appears more evil with each frame, as he completely neglects to tell the children about the harm that coal is doing on our environment in his low-down on coal.
The irresponsibility of targeting such a vulnerable audience is especially disturbing to me. As adults, don’t we expect to be presented with all sides of an argument before forming opinions? Why not extend the same privilege to kids, who have such limited access to information on their own? They are going to have to live with the negative effects of coal mining and usage, so they have a right to know what they are.
Christa Koehler
By Christa Koehler,
Manager, State and Local Government Program
Clean Air-Cool Planet
Shocked, surprised, overwhelmed, ecstatic, and relieved. That’s how I felt as I witnessed my final score after completing the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) examination.
I sat patiently biting my knuckles as I waited hours for the computer to bring up a screen with my fate. Did I pass? Or had I failed to achieve my planning certification that I had been studying for many, many long grueling months. Okay, waiting only felt like hours. It probably took about 5 minutes between hitting the button to submit my completed exam to finding out if I passed it. And maybe months of studying is an exaggeration. But I did clock in quite a few hours of reading and memorization.
You may wonder why the planning certification was so important for me. Many of my colleagues wonder why I would put such an emphasis on achieving a planning certification if I am working for an environmental non-profit. It’s a question that deserves an explanation.
In order to truly make a difference in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to stabilize our climate, we need to drastically change the way we live. And that’s what planners specialize in. Everything in urban and rural planning sets the stage for important land use decisions such as how much we drive our vehicles along with where we live and what types of buildings we live in. In a nutshell, planning is the foundation for how we create our communities.
We can only reduce the energy we use in our existing buildings to a certain extent. We can trade in our vehicles for ones that receive better mpgs, but we can’t eliminate those vehicle miles without access to public transportation or a possible career or lifestyle change.
Some of us are lucky to work in the town we live in or have access to alternative forms of transportation. Some of us made the socially responsible decision to live in a smaller house or give up that private open space to be closer to work and our social activities. But there are environmental advocates who still chose the larger house with the bigger yard for less money. Many of the liberal movers and shakers I knew in graduate school who were looking to change the world through environmental initiatives drove large SUVs. When questioned, they were quick to count the reasons why they desperately needed their large vehicles.
How many of us are willing to buy our next house in an urban core in order to make significant emission reductions? How many of us are willing to give up our private yards in suburbia? WHAT? Make that type of self-sacrifice? When I could have a room for each kid and pay less for my home in a town away from work and the downtown? As a society, we have already made large sacrifices in exchange for the larger house, safer neighborhood (so we thought) and good schools. We have lost our sense of place and our self belonging. We drive our personal vehicles to shopping malls in order to achieve a type of consumer false happiness. What happened to the true happiness we used to experience by belonging to a community where we were involved with our neighbors and fellow town citizens through social interaction? When we had neighborhood potluck dinners once a week. Or where you could count on your neighbors for anything like walking the dog, picking up dinner, or watching the kids.
I do completely understand that many of us did not even have the opportunity to consider working and living in the same community even with the willingness to make lifestyle changes. Many of us work in towns where the average price for home ownership or even rent exceeds our ability to pay. Or you could be living in a town where you might be less than a mile from downtown but with no sidewalks in sight. Or a street with a high speed limit, frequent accidents, and no bike lane or path.
This is where town planning plays an integral part. A vital piece of a planner’s profession resides in helping to facilitate a town’s comprehensive master plan. These plans deal with issues such as pedestrian and bike access, public transportation, building densities, and affordable/workforce housing. A community master plan sets the vision for how we want our communities to look in the future and how we can achieve these visions.
All of these visions can help a community significantly reduce their energy consumption along with greenhouse gas emissions. One way to start making the link between land use decisions and reducing energy is to incorporate energy and climate chapters in a community’s master plan. At Clean Air-Cool Planet, we have begun this type of collaboration with regional planning commissions and town planning departments. We see the urgent need to plan for mitigation along with adaptation within communities. These chapters address how a municipality can deal with rising energy prices and a changing climate.
Town planning and climate change issues are integrally connected. In order for solutions to be developed to stabilize the climate, we need to aggressively work with our planners to begin reshaping and rebuilding our communities. We need to re-emphasize the benefits of creating neighborhoods and whole communities that create a sense of place and belonging and inherently reduce our consumption of energy.
If the environmental community wants to achieve significant greenhouse gas and energy reductions, we will have to tackle the fundamental issue of how as a society we work, play and live on this earth. We need to collaborate and work closely with town planners in order to achieve these fundamental changes.
And for all of you still in suspense, I passed the exam and will use my certification to continue to assist communities in making land use changes that will reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
Teal Tigner, Clean Air-Cool Planet
By Teal Tigner,
Corporate Program Consultant
Clean Air-Cool Planet
In today’s issue of the Wall Street Journal, there is a very interesting article about Wind Farms and Wall Street. In much of the climate legislation news of late, information regarding alternative energy investment plans has fallen by the wayside in favor of the latest buzz surrounding cap-and-trade. But in my opinion, this element of climate action is even more significant than a carbon cap and trade system because of its economic and climate implications. Why? Because in addition to being sustainable sources of energy, wind-farm and solar company projects result in another, good-for-the-economy outcome: jobs.
Building wind turbines and installing solar panels require special technician training. Unions such as the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers recognized this necessity years ago and began adapting their certification programs accordingly. (See the Success Story here). In 2003, the IBEW Local 103 chapter, which is based in Dorchester, MA, installed photovoltaic panels on the roof of its facility in the hopes of covering some of its energy costs while providing an in-house training ground for its technicians. In 2005, it erected the first wind turbine in the city of Boston for the same reasons. Today, the workers trained through the IBEW Local 103 are in high demand as wind and solar projects take off across New England and the rest of the country. And with available financing appealing to the deal makers of Wall Street, these projects are attractive to both investors and environmentalists.
Under the current federal program, the government will give a cash rebate for 30% of the cost of building a renewable-energy facility. But wind farms and solar panel companies are not the only ones who can benefit from this program. Consumer-based companies like Staples have partnered with renewable energy companies in an effort to operate off of clean energy while reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Other companies such as Steelcase have purchased majority shares in wind farms for the same reason.
So what does all of this investment mean? Well, three things really : 1) The green collar workforce we’ve heard so much about is starting to really take shape; 2) Wall Street is taking an interest in making environmental industries profitable; and 3) recognizable mainstream companies are taking the lead in some really cool sustainable projects. All of this is good for the environment, business, and the consumer. Even more so, these are projects that people can see, understand, and support with considerably less political rhetoric than other aspects of the climate change initiative. Sometimes simplicity really is best.
By Neda Arabshahi
Clean Air-Cool Planet
Climate Policy Fellow
Friday, July 30, 2009 Interview with Caleb Pungowiyi.
Mr. Pungowiyi is a spokesperson and advocate for Native peoples of Alaska, he is a Yup’ik Eskimo who was born and raised on Alaska’s St. Lawrence Island.
Please tell me about your experience with climate change and what changes you have seen in the lives of native people in Alaska?
Mr. Pungowiyi: Each person and community is affected in different ways; not everyone is thinking about “climate change.” One has to look long-term to connect the different changes that have occurred. This includes the changes that have occurred in a person’s own life and the physical changes that he sees around him, especially changes in the ice conditions.
Alaskan natives live primarily in a marine environment and depend on the associated species. Marine mammals are essential to daily life. The ice is used for harvesting food. The changes in ice and melting of ice have impacted the ability to harvest and the length of the harvesting season. The ice breaks faster and this definitely impacts the harvest.
What are the reactions or responses of the communities to these changes?
Mr. Pungowiyi: People are victims or slaves to the conditions that they have to work with.
Although as human beings we are quite adaptable to changes around us, the real challenge is how the species that serve as food sources will be impacted. Currently we do not know how these species will be impacted on a lifecycle basis. This is key; we need to better understand how salmon, polar bears, seals, whales, etc. will be impacted over their lifetime by the changes happening in the land. They cannot adapt as quickly as human beings and therefore will be in trouble.
This is especially true because arctic animals are highly specialized to live in certain conditions. When these climatic changes occur at the current pace, these very specialized animals cannot adapt quickly enough. Even if by human standards the changes occur over 20 or 50 years, enough time to relocate a village or build different types of homes, the rate of change may be too fast for animals to survive. For this reason, we don’t know the long-term impact of climate change on the animal species. This will be the big question as we try to measure the impacts. There will be results that we didn’t anticipate. Some will be good and some will be bad.
What can the Alaskan government do about this situation?
Mr. Pungowiyi: The government cannot do a whole lot to prevent climate change from impacting the land in Alaska; instead they will try to mitigate the impacts.
The state will not be able to respond to hunger or lack of food resources.
Food security will be a big issue, this is because no amount of food stamps or public assistance will replace caribou, fish, or whale — this will cause some hardship. In today’s America people will not starve to death. There will be some way to help people who might suffer by providing them with American food, rather than native food.
The biggest impact will be energy costs — gasoline and heating fuel for electricity and transportation. These costs are astounding and will impact the people that go fishing, hunting, etc. These increasing costs will restrict normal activities because people rely on fuel for transport to reach the hunting and fishing spots.
The state will not step in to help with these things. They will step in when something is considered a disaster — but this must be declared and then they must provide economic assistance. This past winter along the Yukon it was a tough winter and a poor fishing season. There was a shortage in food from traditional sources. This is not considered a disaster because the state thinks people could use other resources such as American food, meaning chicken, cows, etc.
Wouldn’t that sacrifice the culture?
Mr. Pungowiyi: Cultures change and this culture has been changing — some grandchildren don’t want to eat native food. Language changes because of television and people not speaking their native language at home.
How do you feel about that?
Mr. Pungowiyi: In a perfect world I’d like to see culture, language, food, games, dancing, etc. continue. We eat seal, whale, birds, eggs, etc. Our diet is changing and the children are used to store bought food such as pizza, hamburgers, and sweet drinks. We are becoming like mainstream America: we live with pop music, in a technological world.
The elders are struggling with technology and more comfortable with traditional lifestyles. Diabetes and obesity are big results of these changes. We need to be more physically active with hunting activities but now with daytime jobs, dietary and other lifestyle changes the native communities are in bad health.
One bad habit is smoking and many people are dying from cancer. This is still a big trend now, more and more people are quitting but a majority of the native population smokes and passes this on generation to generation.
Sarah Palin created a Climate Change Sub-Cabinet, and you are on the Alaska Climate Impact Assessment Commission that issued a recent report with recommendations to the state of Alaska on addressing climate change. Please tell me about this process. What were the challenges and successes?
Mr. Pungowiyi: There were members on the commission that do not believe in climate change and did not believe that it was going to be devastating to Alaska. They heard testimony of the negative effects of climate change but the report was quite watered down to incorporate the opinions of those who do not believe in climate change.
With regard to the formation of state, national and international policy on climate change, anything that changes will take a long time. Policy will encourage the use of alternative energy to reduce oil-based energy and promote wind generation. However, we need immediate results in Alaska.
Can you talk about the cities on the edge of melting permafrost?
Mr. Pungowiyi: The military has stepped in to help move the community of Newtok.
Shishmaref and Kivalina are also very much in danger but I doubt that there will be efforts from the Federal government to help them, other than trying to protect them from encroachment of the ocean. In my opinion they will not relocate them.
My main concern is for the people who are really dependent on marine resources. They are the ones who will have a serious issue with food security. They will not be able to access food; the hardship for them will be much greater than any other communities in Alaska. Currently there are no means to address food security, other than what was mentioned earlier about switching to American food.
For more information on Alaskan native peoples and arctic warming, see www.arcticwarming.net.
Ben Wessel
By Ben Wessel
2009 Clean Air-Cool Planet
Climate Fellow for Policy Communications
Working on the ground in DC to influence climate policy is important work, but sometimes it’s easy to get trapped in a maze of numbers, analyses, rumors, and blogs. Somewhere between calculating the percentage of carbon permits allocated to state wildlife and natural resource agencies and combing through a Senator’s website for mentions of support for the latest energy efficiency proposal, it’s easy to lose sight of what you’re actually fighting for.
Which is why I jumped at the chance to interview Clean Air-Cool Planet’s Brooks Yeager this week. Brooks has had a long career advancing and advocating for the answers to many environmental problems that face threatened areas of the world, particularly the Arctic. More than anyone else in our office, Brooks has a real grasp of the ways the climate crisis will impact our world, since his work focuses on the most vulnerable place of all. Beyond all the legal lingo and policy wonk talk, the fight to stop global warming is truly about protecting the places in the world that we value most and, for Brooks, that place is the Arctic. The interview is posted on Clean Air-Cool Planet’s arcticwarming.net website.
This opportunity was particularly meaningful for me, as my own road to the movement to pass strong climate policy runs through the Arctic as well. In June 2008, I was selected to join seventeen other young people from nine countries around the world on a “Voyage for the Future” (www.voyageforthefuture.org) hosted by the World Wildlife Fund. We visited the Norwegian arctic archipelago of Svalbard and learned about the ramifications of arctic warming on the local people, arctic ecosystem, and the globe as a whole. While the experience was somewhat disheartening in that we learned that this miraculous place that we had just begun to explore was under such dire circumstances, we were also encouraged to take action and get involved to drive the change that would save the Arctic. Now that I’m doing policy work at Clean Air-Cool Planet that will help combat the climate crisis, and protect the Arctic, I feel as if I’m living up to the charge. Do your part by exploring www.arcticwarming.net and educating yourself about the different impacts we’re having on the Arctic and learning about how to change your behaviors to protect the great white north.
