Melting North

I had a rather lengthy commentary planned for today but decided to post a quick link to a story about the shrinking glaciers on Baffin Island. As a former resident of the extreme northern part of the island, having spent years observing the changing climate and listening to the traditional knowledge of the Inuit hunters about the extreme changes they've observed, stories like this don't surprise me one bit.

I think part of the reason this story really caught my attention is due to my personal connection with it. I've known these observed changes to be true long before scientific data confirmed the fact and the Inuit have known this to be true for decades longer. Anyone that works on or with the land, or even spends a great deal of time away from urban areas, intuitively knows that things are changing at an alarming rate and feel it on a personal level. I believe it to be true in stating that people will become motivated to act on an issue that impacts them on a personal level. As the effects of the changing climate continue to become more encompassing,  we're also seeing more individuals personally affected and wanting action. 

When I started writing on environmental issues I promised myself that I wouldn't focus on the doom and gloom of the matter or resort to the overused tactic akin to yelling fire in a crowded theater in order to draw attention to the issues. I want people to be personally motivated to act for change. The tens of thousands of reasons I can give a person to act for change are trivial in comparison to the affect one personal reason an individual has to act.