A STRUGGLE TO STAY AFLOAT.

GLOBAL warming & the environment; ESKIMOS; ENVIRONMENTAL refugees; INTERNAL migration; TEMPERATURE & the environment; ARCTIC peoples; STORM surges; SEA ice; KRUPNIK, Igor; GLOBAL temperature changes

This article discusses the effects of global warming on an Eskimo village in Alaska. Rising temperatures in Alaska have decreased the amount of sea ice surrounding the coast and have created an increased vulnerability to storm surges. The coastal Eskimo village of Shismaref has been so battered by these storms that villagers voted to relocate to the mainland. This relocation marks Shismaref residents as one of the first refugees of global warming and displays the cultural effects that global warming will have on affected areas. Anthropologist Igor Krupnik discusses the effects global warming will have on Arctic peoples and the connection between culture and landmasses.