My Recent Heart Break....Don't worry it's nothing like determental to my health..Welcome to Banks Island

For my online class through University of Guelph Distance Education I have fallen behind due to well everything that has happened to me in the past month.   But July is a new month, so I must catch up.  I am taking Environment and Resources and I had to watch this video on Banks Island and my heart sank.   http://www.iisd.org/publications/pub.aspx?pno=428. 

Here is my take on it that I posted to my discussion boards: 

First off that video officially broke my heart because I know that we need Arctic Research in Canada, I even saw the steps during my short stay in Winnipeg.  I would like to argue that the scientific observations based on traditions of the local people do not provide empirical evidence.    The people of Banks Island have been living there for many generations and have passed down the traditions of hunting and fishing in order to survive and the populations of food sources have remained sustainable.  

As mentioned in the video food stocks are declining.   The permafrost lake draining to the ocean and taking this freshwater fish supply, is huge.   Not only did it remove the fish from the Island, that stock is officially gone because freshwater fish cannot adapt to saltwater they will eventually die because they cannot adjust to the ions.   Anadromous fishes such as salmon, that spend all or part of their adult life in salt water and return to freshwater streams and rivers to spawn, and sometimes die after returning, and now have no lake to return to. 

For Anadronamous Fish see http://www.psmfc.org/habitat/edu_anad_table.html

The fish were food not only for the people but for other fish, polar bears, seals, foxes, birds, it really impacts the whole food chain, which is a huge concern.   The lack of sea ice represents a huge climate change, global warming has already hit the arctic.   Without sea ice the seals have no shelter to nurse their young, and seals require a lot of nursing and their milk is very thick and rich in nutrients in order to build blubber which the seals need to survive the harsh winters.  The Polar Bears need the Sea Ice to hunt the seals.  The lemmings are gone and they were a huge food source for foxes, which are hunted by the Inuit for their coat and food, as are seals and polar bears.

Banks Island is just one example I am sure there are others to suggest that they just leave is really not an option when all of the arctic is like this.   They are Arctic people it is their way of life and it is not right to force them out.   We need to protect the Arctic, it has been a great resource for Canadians for generations we owe the First Nations the right to their land.  Where can we expect them to live?   More Native reserves that are restrictive and does not allow them access to their resources they need.   We need to act fast, and Arctic Research is necessary think about the food chain, from fish to seals to polar bears to humans…also what is going on in these freshwater lakes that is causing them to disappear is it just the climate or is there something in the water that is happening in response to a temperature surge? Increases in temperature can have a huge effect on lakes, they can cause nutrient levels to increase and algae blooms or can cause problems in zooplankton, insects and other microorganisms which can affect the fish and other aquatic life.  The increase in nutrients can cause bacteria outbreaks like Ecoli (IE Walkerton) and with less lakes around they need to be aware of the state of each lake.