Muktaaq and Arctic Char a La Box

sine: 16th Mar 2006 - 23:50 GMT

wow! a question: does "global warming" effect all this? that is, are there any effects on this sort of traditional lifestyle due to climate changes?

Elicar: 17th Mar 2006 - 20:02 GMT

SUSHI!

Love sushi, but this muktaaq does not look appetizing!

EvilGentleman: 17th Mar 2006 - 20:06 GMT

Yes, sine, it is most unfortunate that global warming is destroying this fragile ecosystem at an alarming rate. I have heard that the rate of global warming is over 6 times faster in the polar regions than it is at the temperate mid-latitudes. From what I have seen, it is true. The permafrost is melting, the sea ice is withdrawing, and every year seems to bring more climate change.

The permafrost up there usually goes deep underground, with even the lakes themselves actually being mere pools of water resting on top of the frozen soil underneath. Normally, when it gets cold, the lakes actually freeze from the bottom up. You get the normal surface ice like you do elsewhere, but you also get the ice on the bottom (the permafrost) rising to meet the surface ice until the lakes are mostly frozen solid. But starting in the late 1990's, I began noticing more and more dry lake beds in the summer. Where the year before there was fish, the following year there is just a mud pit, or sometimes a cracked dry lake bed. In the period of 1992 - 1999, I personally observed between 30% and 40% of the lakes around Coral Harbour drying up. At first, I could not understand what was going on, but suddenly it all became clear: the permafrost was melting! As the permafrost layer below melts, the soil underneath starts absorbing the water, which then runs off into the deeper rivers. Over a few years, 1/3 of the shallower lakes had disappeared. A few years later, research data proving my suspicions started reaching the media. I have not lived in Coral Harbour since 1999, so I have no clue how much further it has progressed, but I am certain it is still getting worse.

The sea ice has begun to form later every year. As a result, many Inuit hunters (usually elders), that are used to earlier freeze-up times are going out to hunt, but finding that the ice is still too weak to support them. Unfortunately, this is resulting in many drowning deaths. At present, I would say this killing one out of every thousand people per year, or 0.1% of the population annually.

To answer your original question, the traditional lifestyle is all but destroyed. The original ecosystem is no more. The migration patterns have changed, the habitats have changed. And there are even species that are foreign to the area that are appearing, like blue jays and robins and sparrows. The elders freaked out when they saw these birds, because they did not know what they were. All the wildlife from the boreal forest areas are moving north into the tundra. Even the treeline is moving north.

The Arctic is like a canary in a coal mine. And the canary is dying.

Typo: 17th Mar 2006 - 20:08 GMT

*lol* It's all good!! You never know until you try it yourslef :p gotta try ROTTEN WALRUS *yummmmy*

EvilGentleman: 17th Mar 2006 - 20:16 GMT

Typo, now you're gonna force me to explain what igunaq is. I am sure the majority of people have never heard of the Inuit delicacy of fermented walrus meat, best served when at least 4 months old and green.

Typo: 17th Mar 2006 - 20:19 GMT

Hi EG... I'll just add a little bit more...

there's a special way to make it... got to keep it in a walrus skin, in a warm place and check on it at times... you have to stir it around once in a while too... if it gets too rotten it can also be life threatening...

Peter: 17th Mar 2006 - 20:20 GMT

tell, tell! this thread is really fascinating, actually... :D

Peter: 17th Mar 2006 - 20:20 GMT

www.arcticphoto.co.uk/supergal/ba/ba92/ba9276-28.htm

actually, the whole site there is interesting:
www.arcticphoto.co.uk/supergal/ba/ba92/ba92.htm#ba9276-28

EvilGentleman: 17th Mar 2006 - 20:25 GMT

Thanks, typo. I never knew it had to be monitored.

EvilGentleman: 17th Mar 2006 - 20:28 GMT

Peter, good pics. I have pics of hunting and the cutting up of beluga whales, but I have not posted them, for fear of attracting the vegan hacker corps.

Typo: 17th Mar 2006 - 20:28 GMT

And oh... we don't eat it just like that, since it's pretty strong *that you would hold your nose and still smell it* it is best eaten with frozen lake trout abd frozen caribou...

Peter: 17th Mar 2006 - 20:30 GMT

eg: post away, if you want. i dont think youll get odd comments, considering the real-life context...

EvilGentleman: 17th Mar 2006 - 20:38 GMT

Thanks, Peter. I will start digging through my archives. But I have to run right now and do a few errands, so it may be a while.

Peter: 17th Mar 2006 - 20:48 GMT

i just like seeing this sort of stuff. ive never seen anything like this before!

GGP: 17th Mar 2006 - 21:21 GMT

EG, I'm also very interested in your posts on this topic--the pictures and the intelligent, informative writings.

jack: 18th Mar 2006 - 06:07 GMT

sorry to hear about the changes there. i am especially interested in the people who live there and theyre history. this is fascinating.

elaine: 18th Mar 2006 - 14:51 GMT

berries watercress and kelp sounds like a good accompaniment, as well. "lettuce" and tasteless tomatoes doesn't really cut it as a salad, really.