On our daily walks here in
Victoria along shores of the Pacific Ocean, amongst other visitors, we meet
many passengers and crew from Alaska cruise ships.
Almost all vessels sail from
here to Seattle. That’s where those who
have just come from Alaska disembark, to make room for the new passengers
who’ll do a 7-10 day journey.
Glacier Before and After
When we ask them how the sailing went and whether
it met their expectations, we get different reactions. Those who’ve never been to Alaska are
somewhat disappointed in seeing little of the ‘glory’ advertised in the glossy
brochures.
Top (before) Bottom (after)
Then there are those who are repeats. These people are very disappointed and
saddened to see how the glaciers are disappearing. Most crew members are from
Indonesia or the Philippines, so for them any vista of ice or glaciers,
glimpses of bears or eagles, is something different and exotic. Then there are the passengers who often live
in concrete jungles we call cities, or suburbs, for them also going to Alaska
is a welcome balance from hectic urban life. We were on an Alaska
voyage four years ago to mark my eightieth birthday and even then noticed
fewer glaciers compared to our research before the sailing. Of course, we now
hear the Arctic is the fastest warming spot on earth with record-breaking
melting ice and snow. Snow and Arctic sea ice extent is plummeting
suddenly.
NOAA and NASA both ranked June
2013 as among the top 5 month on record. The snow extent shrunk from 12.4
million sq. miles to 6.2 million sq. miles in a month’s time. The Inuit – indigenous peoples of the Far North - are threatened by the rising waters caused by this
melting of colossal volumes of snow and ice. (Of course there is also major melting in Antarctica.)
Then there is the “drill, baby, drill” mentality of oil
companies that will only cause more upsetting changes in the pristine and
beautiful wilderness of the Arctic. Polar bears find it difficult to hunt and
survive due to the rapid melting of ice, causing them to spend more time swimming,
sometimes for too long distances.
It took thousands of years to form these icy
regions but we may see in just one generation its demise. How high will the seas rise? What will be the effects of these causes? Yes,
some passengers are happy to have sailed to Alaska, but most seem to be disappointed
and worried. So you can see how during our
strolling along the sea shores, we meet members of the Human Family and hear of
their experiences. Now if there was only a way to stop or reverse this very rapid
warming of the North . . .
that would be a welcome miracle.
Henri van Bentum
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