SES Earth Day!

Hello S.E.S. Dalen and Jeff here, we hopefully won’t be talking to you guys today (no offense). The plan is that we will be flying to Clyde River at the time of the proposed Earth Day presentation. So in the mean time we (meaning Jeff and I) will provide some information on climate change happening here on Baffin Island.

So to begin with, we recommend that you read the other blog (done by Allison and Joe) on the background information on Baffin Island. After learning a little on the background history and natural formations of Baffin please read on!
Iqaluit Downtown (melting snow)

The ACIA or Arctic Climate Impact Assessment predicts that marine wildlife will be pushed to extinction by the late 21st century because of sea ice reductions. This can be seen in the hunting season now taking place on Baffin, at one time the residents were able to hunt for 9 months, now the ice has depleted to the point where the hunting season for most animals is 4 months.

The introduction of exotic species can also be attributed to global warming. In Iqaluit itself, the American robin was sighted, meaning that the robin has traveled over the sixty-degree line, something that has never been recorded in history.

The temperature in the summer has flucuated drastically, creating an irregularity to the seasons. Also precipitation in the form of rain and thunderstorms, have been occurring something not ever recorded in the arctic. This has also led to a decrease in predictability in which the Inuit inhabitants have relied on for thousands of years concerning hunting and fishing.

The wildlife, the temperature changes, the ice melts, the irregular conditions and the introduction of exotic species are just a few of the highlighted changes due to climate change attributed to global warming, as Shelia Watt-Cloutier (ICC President) said, “This could be the beginning of the end of the way of life for a whole people!”


In the end this issue is beyond the science and beyond the politics, it is truly a social justice, ethical and moral issue in which we, as people must face. As Jeff and I have seen first hand in the irregular weather, the melting snow and the loss of cultural identity tied to the lack of sea ice, global warming truly is changing the face and culture of Baffin Island.

Remember to keep every day as a Earth Day! and heres a little help from a picture!




until next time,

Dalen and Jeff out

P.S. hello all our friends at S.E.S.!