Arctic Thaw (Paperback)

Scientists no longer debate whether the global climate is changing. Earth's atmosphere is warming up, and temperatures are rising twice as fast in the Arctic as the global average. How will climbing temperatures affect the ancient culture of the Inupiat people of Alaska's North Slope? Their culture revolves around the tradition of hunting bowhead whales from a platform of ice on the water. The hunt is the great co-operative endeavour that brings the community together to work, store food for lean times, tell stories, dance, and give new life to old traditions. Now the permafrost is thawing, and increasing dangers await whale hunters as the sea ice becomes fragile. Are these effects due to global warming, or is this a case of local weather foreshadowing a grim future for the Inupiat?