Retreating Glaciers and Melting Permafrost Threaten Traditional Lifestyles

Watching the gargantuan chunks of ice break off the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier and thunder into an Arctic fjord is a spectacular sight.

To Greenland’s Inuit population, it is also deeply worrisome.”In the past we could walk on the ice in the fjord between the icebergs for a six-month period during the winter, drill holes and fish,” said Joern Kristensen, a local fisherman. “We can only do that for a month or two now. It has become more difficult to drive dogs sleds because the ice between the icebergs isn’t solid anymore.”

..With warmer temperatures, some bacteria, plants and animals could disappear, while others will grow and thrive. Polar bears and other animals that depend on sea ice to breed and forage are at risk, scientists say. There are fears that polar bears and some seal species could face extinction in just decades because of global warming.

The thinning of the sea ice presents a danger to both humans and polar bears, said Peter Ewins, director of Arctic conservations for the World Wildlife Fund Canada.

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