Scientist lives with endangered tribe to save disappearing language - CNN.com
London, England (CNN) -- As inhospitable environments go, it doesn't get much trickier than living near the Arctic Circle where the temperature can plummet to minus 40 degrees Celsius in the permanent winter darkness and the diet consists of walrus and whale blubber.
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Now, having spent almost 12 weeks adjusting to the freezing conditions and the language barriers, Leonard talks about his experiences there.
The cold has already taken its toll on the Apple Mac laptop he took out there. It has frozen and refuses to "boot up," but Leonard has managed to find an "ancient," PC that he is using to send emails.
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But Leonard says that apart from political pressure, the tribe faces a new and unprecedented threat to their culture from global warming.
"It is widely understood how global warming is threatening the natural environment but the Inughuit represent a bona fide example of how climate change impacts on local cultures.
"The threat of global warming to their traditional hunting life has left the Inughuit believing that their current settlements will not be here in 15 years' time, that people will relocate southwards, and will assimilate into a broader Inuit culture," wrote Leonard.
1 comment:
"The threat of global warming to their traditional hunting life has left the Inughuit believing that their current settlements will not be here in 15 years' time, that people will relocate southwards"
Southwards? Well, I can understand why they might want to move southwards, because it seems so frigging cold where they are. But, if they feel that Global Warming is the problem, surely they should be wanting to move northwards?
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