Alaskan towns at risk from rising seas sound alarm as Trump pulls federal help

[ScienceRocks]

Alaskan towns at risk from rising seas sound alarm as Trump pulls federal help
Communities in danger of falling into the sea say assistance from Washington has dried up: ‘It feels like a complete abdication of responsibility on climate change’

The US government’s withdrawal from dealing with, or even acknowledging, climate change may have provoked widespread opprobrium, but for Alaskan communities at risk of toppling into the sea, the risks are rather more personal.

The Trump administration has moved to dismantle climate adaptation programs including the Denali Commission, an Anchorage-based agency that is crafting a plan to safeguard or relocate dozens of towns at risk from rising sea levels, storms and the winnowing away of sea ice.

Federal assistance for these towns has been ponderous but could now grind to a halt, with even those working on the issue seemingly targeted by the administration. In July, Joel Clement, an interior department official who worked with Alaskan communities on climate adaptation, claimed he had been moved to a completely unrelated position because of the administration’s ideological hostility to the issue.

“We were getting down to the brass tacks of relocation [of towns at risk] and now work has just stopped,” Clement told the Guardian. He has lodged an official complaint over his reassignment.

“Without federal coordination from Washington DC, there isn’t much hope. This will take millions of dollars and will take years, and these people don’t have years. I think it’s clear I was moved because of my climate work. It feels like a complete abdication of responsibility on climate change.”

According to the Army Corps of Engineers, 31 Alaskan communities face “imminent” existential threats from coastline erosion, flooding and other consequences of temperatures that are rising twice as quickly in the state as the global average. A handful – Kivalina, Newtok, Shishmaref and Shaktoolik – are considered in particularly perilous positions and will need to be moved. .

.. Alaskan towns at risk from rising seas sound alarm as Trump pulls federal help

Our government is blind to reality.

 

[DarkFury]

It's called erosion. Look it up fool.

 

[westwall]

Alaskan towns at risk from rising seas sound alarm as Trump pulls federal help
Communities in danger of falling into the sea say assistance from Washington has dried up: ‘It feels like a complete abdication of responsibility on climate change’

The US government’s withdrawal from dealing with, or even acknowledging, climate change may have provoked widespread opprobrium, but for Alaskan communities at risk of toppling into the sea, the risks are rather more personal.

The Trump administration has moved to dismantle climate adaptation programs including the Denali Commission, an Anchorage-based agency that is crafting a plan to safeguard or relocate dozens of towns at risk from rising sea levels, storms and the winnowing away of sea ice.

Federal assistance for these towns has been ponderous but could now grind to a halt, with even those working on the issue seemingly targeted by the administration. In July, Joel Clement, an interior department official who worked with Alaskan communities on climate adaptation, claimed he had been moved to a completely unrelated position because of the administration’s ideological hostility to the issue.

“We were getting down to the brass tacks of relocation [of towns at risk] and now work has just stopped,” Clement told the Guardian. He has lodged an official complaint over his reassignment.

“Without federal coordination from Washington DC, there isn’t much hope. This will take millions of dollars and will take years, and these people don’t have years. I think it’s clear I was moved because of my climate work. It feels like a complete abdication of responsibility on climate change.”

According to the Army Corps of Engineers, 31 Alaskan communities face “imminent” existential threats from coastline erosion, flooding and other consequences of temperatures that are rising twice as quickly in the state as the global average. A handful – Kivalina, Newtok, Shishmaref and Shaktoolik – are considered in particularly perilous positions and will need to be moved. .

.. Alaskan towns at risk from rising seas sound alarm as Trump pulls federal help

Our government is blind to reality.

And then there's the reality. You fools fall for anything don't you....

Newtok Village Relocation History
Part Two: Early Efforts to Address Erosion
In the three decades that followed the community's settlement at Newtok, residents became increasingly aware that the north bank of the Ninglick River was rapidly losing ground. Concerned with the future well-being of the community, the (then) City of Newtok requested and received funding through the Alaska Legislature for an assessment of the erosion problem as well as an evaluation of alternatives for erosion control to protect several miles of the Ninglick River bank. In 1983, Woodward-Clyde Consultants was hired to prepare the Ninglick River Erosion Assessment.

As part of the erosion assessment, historical bank erosion rates were evaluated from aerial photographs dated 1957, 1974 and 1977 and from a site visit prior to ice breakup in May 1983. This evaluation determined that between June 1957 and May 1983, the north bank of the Ninglick River had eroded at an average annual rate of 19 to 88 feet and that if this process could not be slowed, community structures would be endangered within 25 to 30 years (2008-2013).

The conclusion of the erosion assessment was that providing full protection to stop the erosion process over the entire length of the Ninglick River bank would be prohibitively expensive. In an addendum to the study, Woodward Clyde concluded that “Relocating Newtok would likely be less expensive than trying to hold back the Ninglick River.”

Newtok History: Part Two, History of Newtok, Newtok Planning Group, Planning & Land Management, Division of Community and Regional Affairs

 

[Sunni Man]

Why can't they just build new igloo's a couple of hundred feet back from the shore line. .....

 

[Penelope]

That is why T built a seawall in Ireland to protect his golf course of which his attorneys said it was needed due to global warming.

The Pubs are in denial about a lot.

 

[westwall]

That is why T built a seawall in Ireland to protect his golf course of which his attorneys said it was needed due to global warming.

The Pubs are in denial about a lot.

I suggest you read the link i posted so you don't make yet another asinine post.

 

[Sunni Man]

Alaskan towns at risk from rising seas sound alarm as Trump pulls federal help
Communities in danger of falling into the sea say assistance from Washington has dried up: ‘It feels like a complete abdication of responsibility on climate change’

So you're saying Trump is racist against eskimo's? .....

 

[miketx]

 

[Carter Malone]

Won't it be fun to watch that asshole explain the water rising at Maralago?


Sent from my iPad using USMessageBoard.com

 

[Carter Malone]

Alaskan towns at risk from rising seas sound alarm as Trump pulls federal help
Communities in danger of falling into the sea say assistance from Washington has dried up: ‘It feels like a complete abdication of responsibility on climate change’

So you're saying Trump is racist against eskimo's? .....

You can't possibly believe he is not.

If you are anything like your avi and screen name, he's racist against you as well.

[emoji521]


Sent from my iPad using USMessageBoard.com

 

[Sunni Man]

You can't possibly believe he is not.
If you are anything like your avi and screen name, he's racist against you as well.

Our beloved Pres. Trump isn't racist against anybody.

He is the best president the country has had in decades. .....

 

[Carter Malone]

That is why T built a seawall in Ireland to protect his golf course of which his attorneys said it was needed due to global warming.

The Pubs are in denial about a lot.

True. Damn, Trump really raped that entire area, ruined the fishing in the area depended on and forced people out of their homes.

That's why he said he wants to make it easier to steal people's property. When he said that, his fans actually applauded.

[emoji521]


Sent from my iPad using USMessageBoard.com

 

[Sunni Man]

True. Damn, Trump really raped that entire area, ruined the fishing in the area depended on and forced people out of their homes.

Trump has only been in office 6 months.

What did Obozo do about the alleged situation during his 8 years as president? ....

 

[Old Rocks]

It's called erosion. Look it up fool.

Yes, erosion caused by sea level rise and thawing permafrost. You are such a dumb ass.

 

[westwall]

It's called erosion. Look it up fool.

Yes, erosion caused by sea level rise and thawing permafrost. You are such a dumb ass.

You didn't read the link either dumb ass. Read the link I provided and learn something.

 

[Old Rocks]

It's called erosion. Look it up fool.

Yes, erosion caused by sea level rise and thawing permafrost. You are such a dumb ass.

You didn't read the link either dumb ass. Read the link I provided and learn something.

My what a dumb ass you remain, Mr. Westwall. You really think that we cannot tell the difference between river erosion, and that caused by sea level rise and permafrost thaw?

Paul Laustsen and Ann Gibbs
July–Sept. 2015

in this issue:
next story
In a new study published July 2015, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) found that the remote northern Alaska coast has some of the highest shoreline-erosion rates in the nation. Analyzing more than half a century of shoreline-change data, scientists discovered that the pattern is extremely variable, with most of the coast retreating at rates of more than 1 meter per year.




Above: Shaded-relief map of the north coast of Alaska showing study area (U.S.-Canadian border to Icy Cape; rectangular box) and selected geographic locations. Modified from figure 1 of "National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Historical Shoreline Change Along the North Coast of Alaska, U.S.-Canadian Border to Icy Cape." [larger version]


"Coastal erosion along the Arctic coast of Alaska is threatening Native Alaskan villages, sensitive ecosystems, energy- and defense-related infrastructure, and large tracts of Native Alaskan, State, and Federally managed land," said Suzette Kimball, acting director of the USGS.

Scientists studied more than 1,600 kilometers of the Alaskan coast between the U.S.-Canadian border and Icy Cape, Alaska, and found that the average rate of shoreline change, taking into account beaches that are both eroding and expanding, was a loss of 1.4 meters per year. Of those beaches that are eroding, the most extreme case exceeded 18.6 meters per year.




Above: North coast of Alaska study area showing color-coded shoreline-change rates, boundaries of the 10 analysis regions (dashed boxes and numbers) used in the study, and key geographic locations. Figure 72 in "National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Historical Shoreline Change Along the North Coast of Alaska, U.S.-Canadian Border to Icy Cape." [larger version]


"This report provides invaluable objective data to help Native communities, scientists, and land managers understand natural changes and human impacts on the Alaskan coast," said Ann Gibbs, USGS geologist and lead author of the new report.

Coastlines change in response to a variety of factors, including changes in the amount of available sediment, storm impacts, sea-level rise, and human activities. How much a coast erodes or expands in any given location is due to some combination of these factors, which vary from place to place.

Northern Alaska Coastal Erosion Threatens Habitat and Infrastructure

And I can give you many more articles from scientific sources saying exactly the same thing.

 

[westwall]

It's called erosion. Look it up fool.

Yes, erosion caused by sea level rise and thawing permafrost. You are such a dumb ass.

You didn't read the link either dumb ass. Read the link I provided and learn something.

My what a dumb ass you remain, Mr. Westwall. You really think that we cannot tell the difference between river erosion, and that caused by sea level rise and permafrost thaw?

Paul Laustsen and Ann Gibbs
July–Sept. 2015

in this issue:
next story
In a new study published July 2015, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) found that the remote northern Alaska coast has some of the highest shoreline-erosion rates in the nation. Analyzing more than half a century of shoreline-change data, scientists discovered that the pattern is extremely variable, with most of the coast retreating at rates of more than 1 meter per year.




Above: Shaded-relief map of the north coast of Alaska showing study area (U.S.-Canadian border to Icy Cape; rectangular box) and selected geographic locations. Modified from figure 1 of "National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Historical Shoreline Change Along the North Coast of Alaska, U.S.-Canadian Border to Icy Cape." [larger version]


"Coastal erosion along the Arctic coast of Alaska is threatening Native Alaskan villages, sensitive ecosystems, energy- and defense-related infrastructure, and large tracts of Native Alaskan, State, and Federally managed land," said Suzette Kimball, acting director of the USGS.

Scientists studied more than 1,600 kilometers of the Alaskan coast between the U.S.-Canadian border and Icy Cape, Alaska, and found that the average rate of shoreline change, taking into account beaches that are both eroding and expanding, was a loss of 1.4 meters per year. Of those beaches that are eroding, the most extreme case exceeded 18.6 meters per year.




Above: North coast of Alaska study area showing color-coded shoreline-change rates, boundaries of the 10 analysis regions (dashed boxes and numbers) used in the study, and key geographic locations. Figure 72 in "National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Historical Shoreline Change Along the North Coast of Alaska, U.S.-Canadian Border to Icy Cape." [larger version]


"This report provides invaluable objective data to help Native communities, scientists, and land managers understand natural changes and human impacts on the Alaskan coast," said Ann Gibbs, USGS geologist and lead author of the new report.

Coastlines change in response to a variety of factors, including changes in the amount of available sediment, storm impacts, sea-level rise, and human activities. How much a coast erodes or expands in any given location is due to some combination of these factors, which vary from place to place.

Northern Alaska Coastal Erosion Threatens Habitat and Infrastructure

And I can give you many more articles from scientific sources saying exactly the same thing.

Indeed they do, and the records go back over thirty years, and the rate of erosion now, is no different from what it was back then. Which blows your assertion right out of the water.

 

[Gracie]

Do any of you live in Alaska? Why not ASK an alaskan if they are worried? Here, I'll help ya:

gallantwarrior

Lets see what he says.

 

[Penelope]

That is why T built a seawall in Ireland to protect his golf course of which his attorneys said it was needed due to global warming.

The Pubs are in denial about a lot.

I suggest you read the link i posted so you don't make yet another asinine post.

I read the OP , I suggest you read it again.

 

[Penelope]

Alaskan towns at risk from rising seas sound alarm as Trump pulls federal help
Communities in danger of falling into the sea say assistance from Washington has dried up: ‘It feels like a complete abdication of responsibility on climate change’

So you're saying Trump is racist against eskimo's? .....

Yes he was going to punish the state of Alaska for their Senator voting no on TumpCare.