Parade has a really interesting article about the Inupiat culture and the impact of drilling for oil in the Arctic could potentially have on it. Since the Gulf oil spill, Mayor Edward Itta, an Inupiat Eskimo, is uneasy about the various companies that are attempting to drill in the Arctic. An oil spill could cause the downfall of the subsistence culture.
"Offshore drilling means the risks are great to the marine mammals we depend on for subsistence. We fear it may pollute the water, cause spills, frighten off whales with noise. I'm not trying to stop the oil. But if whales disappear, so will our culture....We were here before oil, and we will be here after it. We rise and fall with the bowhead whales."
1 comment :
That reminds me of an article I read a couple of years ago; in essence, the Native Alaskan response to global warming was 'we have survived because we have adapted; we will still be here.' Adaptation is the reason many survive, and I suspect the mayor is right. Still, the rest of us could learn something about not destroying the planet we call home. While we could, alas, I doubt we will.
Post a Comment