A new word For June - or: When is the Arctic no longer the Arctic?
Long story in the International Herald Tribune about climate change in the Arctic, sinking cities, unhappy reindeers, emaciated looking polar bears, walruses trying to climb onto white boats, mistaking them for ice floes and seasoned hunters who have been stepping in snow that should be covering ice but instead falling into water.
Traditions are changing. Here a little detail concerning Inuit language:
Take the Inuit word for June, qiqsuqqaqtuq. It refers to snow conditions, a strong crust at night. Only those traits now appear in May. Shari Gearheard, a climate researcher from Harvard, recalled the appeal of an Inuit hunter, James Qillaq, for a new word at a recent meeting in Canada.
One sentence stayed in her mind: "June isn't really June any more."
SEE ALSO:
Tad McIlwraith: Arctic Warming and Traditional Knowledge of Climate Change
Fighting for the Right to be Cold: Inuit leader wins environment prize
