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Diary entry by Catherine, Campaigner
We sailed through the temperamental waters of the northern Bering Sea in calm seas under a sunny sky. At breakfast, Paul and Karen came off the 4 a.m to 8 a.m. watch telling tales of sighting more whales than they could count. Grey and minke whales abound in this rich and dynamic marine environment. The Bering Strait is the gateway for marine life migrating to and from the Chukchi Sea and the Arctic Ocean. In summer, these waters support major seabird nesting colonies and there were frequent sightings by the crew of puffins, kittiwakes, murres and eiders. The Strait is used by 14 species of marine mammals -- but we have yet to see walrus. Our destination was the tiny village of Wales at the narrowest part of the Strait. Wales is home to 165 Inupiat people whose subsistence lifestyle depends on the health and climate of these waters. The fast current roaring through the narrows makes hunting and fishing a dangerous occupation. In the morning we came abreast of the Diamedes -- the islands that mark the entrance to the Strait. The sheer rock face of little Diamede island glowed in the early sun. Just beyond it were the cliffs of Big Diamede -- Russia. The border separating Russia and the United States - and the international dateline - both run between the two rocky outcrops. On the horizon - and looking into tomorrow - we could see the outline of the Siberian coast. Wales takes its name from Cape Prince of Wales, which Captain James Cook named in 1778. The hills above the town are covered in emerald green grasses and lichen. Pinnacles of rock perch on the hilltops looking, from a distance, like the tumbled remains of Cornish castles. Reindeer are herded into corrals on the tidal flatlands outside the village and feed on the marsh grasses all summer before being harvested in fall for the winter food supply. The soft white sand of the curving beach in front of the village was dotted with fishing boats, and gillnets were set in the shallows to catch migrating salmon. A minke whale spent an hour quietly feeding in the waters off the bow of our anchored ship. The Anchorage crew went ashore first, to meet up with our hosts Pete and Lena . They spent the remainder of the day onshore, talking with the villagers and organizing the evening meeting. By 7:30 the meeting was underway in the white dome building that the locals call the igloo. It's an all- purpose building serving as the village hall, council chambers, post office, medical clinic, art gallery, and more. The meeting was very well attended, especially in light of the number of people out fishing and gathering greens in the fine summer weather. Everyone was remarking on the unusual heat. Village children went swimming in the normally frigid waters of the Bering Sea. This year,according to sampling undertaken by the University of Washington, the Bering is 10 degrees warmer than usual, 4 degrees warmer than ever recorded. Today the temperature in Barrow - Alaska's northernmost settlement - reached an unheard of 61 degrees F. The heat wave served as an appropriate introduction to the topic of the arctic's changing climate and once again the local people were eager to discuss the ramifications of the changes they were witnessing. In Wales, as well as Gambell, we heard that winter winds have become stronger, gale warnings are being issued for the first time in living memory, and there are major concerns about shoreline erosion. Locals told the Greenpeace team about storm surges in winter, high water and waves and progressively eroding beach fronts. In Gambell the airstrip had been virtually washed away by tidal surges last winter and the elders in Wales told us the beach was far narrower than it had been in their younger years. In both Gambell and Wales people talked about how the recent strong winds have made it much more dangerous to go out in their skiffs to hunt and fish. They told us that it is dryer in summer than it used to be. Numerous small lakes in the tundra support nesting waterfowl and shorebirds but some of these lakes are drying up. The lack of rain also means there are fewer berries and greens like sourdock are turning brown earlier in the year. Both berries and wild greens are a critical component of the local diet. |