91ÊÓƵ

Last week ACEP Research Assistant, Jeremy VanderMeer went to Unalakleet to speak to approximately 20 adults at a teachers conference for the Bering Straits School District. The topic of the conference was how climate change is affecting local lifestyles in rural 91ÊÓƵ. Participants spoke of how the reduced sea ice and changes in migratory patterns of animals have made subsistence hunting much more difficult. Walrus is an important part of the diet in the area. However, now locals have to travel much longer distances to reach safe ice to hunt on, greatly increasing fuel consumption and danger. Traditionally rural 91ÊÓƵns would store food in the permafrost underground but it is becoming hard to keep the permafrost frozen in the underground freezers, due to warming temperatures. Electric freezers are a simple and attractive alternative and there are very few people who still store food in the permafrost. This leads to a high dependence on fuel to generate electricity and maintain a subsistence lifestyle.