Transcript
Tony DeBrum Intro
[Tony De Brum]: There was a ship called the Alaska Bear that would come through here once in awhile. Welcome once again, and I hope that we can be relaxed, no formalities please, and I am Tony to you, don’t hesitate to ask anything you like if I can’t answer I will tell you that I can’t.
[Zach Breen]: Could you talk a little bit about how you have personally experience the effects of climate change over the years?
[Tony]: Yeah, you will see some rods sticking out of the water now, here, right now here as we speak under this beautiful water there must be 50 or 60 old tires that were left from the last bad storm that we had. Southwesterly winds. One of the ships that was moored out here broke anchor, and decided to come into my bedroom upstairs here, it was less than a yard when the wind shifted again and took it and tore down my sisters fire next door that is still being repaired.
This would not have been such a remarkable incident because winds do shift and ships do break moorings, but it is happening so often and so intensely now. That is one the more obvious difference these days that we can feel living where we are. People of the islands, I know I need not philosophize with you, you’ve done extremely good work, I’ve checked out your website, I am very impressed with the some of the research that has gone into it. I wish we could share it with more people. It shows that you know very well the need for our people living in these island to be at harmony with nature. And when you say harmony with nature, you are talking about the ocean. That is the extent of our communion.
Danny Brady - Introduction to Climate Change Conference
The more pressing issue now is climate change; in 2013 the Marshall Islands emitted 1.95 metric tons of CO2, compared to the US’s 16.39 metric tons in the same year. They produce a fraction of the emissions, and yet they will be some of first to see the effects of climate change and a rising sea level.
Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, a poet and activist on many different issues facing the Marshall Islands and the world, recently came out with a new poem that started about the declining bee populations and how if the bees go, we go. Then she alluded to if the Marshall Islands disappear beneath the sea then who do you think is next.
The effects of climate change aren’t only going to threaten the Marshallese, they are going to threaten the entire world. Kathy ended the poem with a single line repeated over and over again, echoing into the mind and soul. “I’m taking you with me, I’m taking you with me, I’m taking you with me.” Living in America and even in Little Skagway, we have it far better than those in the Marshall Islands, but you would never see it in their eyes.
When I asked the Marshallese ambassador to climate change, Tony deBrum, if he was afraid for the future of his culture in the event to a mass emigration from the Marshall Islands, before I could finish the question he replied, “I don’t have time to be afraid!” They are a proud people but they should not be the only ones fighting. During our meeting with the president, Dr. Hilda Heine, she said that the Marshallese people need friends in the US. We want to help make those friendships. We have no intention of stopping, the Skagway Climate Change Project didn’t end when we got back into town that afternoon; on April 11th at 7pm; it began.
And now we’re here, holding the first in existence Skagway Climate Change Conference, dedicated to the truly extraordinary Ambassador Tony deBrum who gave us the pleasure of being able to speak with him during our two week trip to the Marshall islands; he passed away on August 22nd. For the next three days we have everything from Skagway alumni discussing renewable energy to a Marshallese movie about Batman, excuse me Batmon, in Majuro. However for the next hour or so we, the students of the Skagway Climate Change Project, are going to share really, for the first time since we got back 7 months ago; what we did, who we met, where we went, and most importantly what we learned.
Climate Change Embassy - Danny Brady
Upon arrival, we were greeted by three Marshallese security guards, to whom we had to relinquish our cell phones, cameras, wallets, and our single tape recorder; a very different experience than when we visited the Marshallese president later in the trip. We were then led into the main complex of the embassy; where we were blasted with the sweet, sweet, cool breeze of air conditioning; and proceeded to wait in the waiting room till the ambassador was ready for us. Though the cool air made the wait worthwhile. After the short period of time, we were beckoned into the conference room by one of the assistants or interns, who were all also Marshallese, where we were greeted by US Ambassador Karin Stuart and the wonderful assortment of cookies and juice pitchers displayed before us. Despite the presence of food we were not deterred, mostly, from asking questions pertaining to her views on climate change, the effects on the islands, and other issues facing the Marshallese culture.
She was very open and surprisingly personal with our questions and wasn't acting as a diplomat the entirety of the time. When asked if she believed that the US was prepared for a mass emigration of the 60,000 or so Marshallese islanders to the United States she stated a mass emigration is a relevant issue that they need to be preparing for right now; her main focus as Ambassador being to help to fix the infrastructural issues including educational, sanitation, and water; however she did comment that she doesn't believe that the US embassy in Majuro, or the US as a whole, is prepared for such an exodus of people.
Though this spout of personal belief left the room when Denver Evans asked about the Runit Dome; as Denver states in her blog, “This dome is the US's way of "dealing" with the nuclear waste produced by bomb testings.” All of the nuclear waste was scrapped off the islands and pushed into a crater, created by another bomb, and the covered a giant cement dome on Runit Island, a part of the Enewetak Atoll. If the dome had been lined and continually maintained and monitored this would have been a fine solution, but the dome is not lined, it’s cracking at the top due to the lack of rebar in the cement, and its leaking radioactive material into the lagoon from underneath. In her response to Denver's question about the US’s plan for the Runit Dome clean up and the Enewetak Islanders’ request to return to the Atoll, as they were relocated from their home by the US, Ambassador Stuart replied that there was "little to no data" and "no sufficient evidence" to prove that the entire island was safe for resettlement, some of the islets on the atoll have been resettled. She spoke as if she was reading a script and not her own words.
It’s a common theme that we saw in the Marshall Islands, Islanders that were removed from their atolls during the US nuclear testing days in the Marshall Islands of 1946 to 1958 want to return home but are stopped by the US. This topic came up in our interview with the Ambassador as there was a new request by the people of the Bikini Atoll to resettle Bikini. Karen Stuart replied with the US's stance on the issue which is that Bikini is safe for resettlement. Which is good news right? However, when the news was announced it was met with some uncertainty by the Marshallese. See, in 1973 the US said the same thing, that the Bikini Atoll was ready for resettlement; Bikinians rushed home started building houses and starting families, only to have the effects of nuclear poisoning force them to leave once again. So the Marshallese are a little skeptical of the US and their promises of resettlement and calling for experts from other countries to come in and perform tests around the atoll before the Bikinians return to their Atoll.
Tony and Nuclear Testing - Eliza Myers
The Marshall Islands is roughly 6,184 miles from India and 3,364 miles from Australia. The fallout spanned out for over 7,000 miles. With all of the radiation now everywhere, how do you clean it up? Where do you put all of the radiation filled soil? To help the people of Eniwetok return to their home, the United States had a solution.They decided to scrape the topsoil off the whole island, put it in a hole that was made from the bomb test Ivy Mike, mixed the soil with cement, and covered it with more cement. The dome wasn’t lined to keep it from leaking radiation into the lagoon. Now, it’s cracking and leaking radiation. It was not a great design and it wasn’t meant to last forever, only long enough for the US to withdraw their associations with the atolls.
You’re probably wondering how this all happened. Who let the U.S. test 67 bombs in another country? Why would they agree to this? The U.S. took over the Marshall Islands in 1944 from the Japanese. We told the Marshallese that we needed to do some tests and needed some of their islands. We told them that it was God’s plan and that it was “for the good of mankind”. I asked Tony de Brum what good he thought came out of the nuclear testing. “The only good thing that came out of it is they (nuclear weapons) should never be used again,” he told me.
I had the honor of meeting Tony de Brum when I was in the Marshall Islands. He lived through the testing of Castle Bravo; he and his grandfather were out fishing in the lagoon of their home atoll Likeap Atoll, 280 miles away from Bikini, when Castle Bravo exploded. De Brum described what he saw as “Blood over a glass bowl. There’s no other way I can describe it.” (Check quotes) Tony was an inspiration to me and I look up to him. My deepest condolences go out to all of his friends and family.
Nuclear testing caused the people of the Bikini Atoll, the people of Rongelap, and Eniwetok to later relocate. The Bikinians were relocated by the United States, the people of Rongelap evacuated themselves, and most of the islands in Eniwetok are still habitable. “Oh, that’s not a big deal. At least they're still in their own country,” you might say. Each atoll has its own different culture. For instance, for one of the outer atolls moving to Majuro is a big change. They go from making most of their food and living a subsistence lifestyle to being able to go to the store and purchase bread, milk, and candy bars whenever they want. Imagine the whole town of Skagway moving to Juneau. We would go from trying to make it to the only grocery store before the close at five to choosing among multiple different stores that don’t close until midnight. The change in grocery stores wouldn’t be the only change we would face. The community of a small town is so different from a city.
In Skagway, we know almost everyone, we wave to people we see on the road, we open doors for strangers, we help return people’s dogs, and every year we pitch in and clean up the town. This would be lost. Now think about the people in the Marshall Islands, they’re losing their special community culture and traditions by having to move to another atoll. The people of the Bikini Atoll had to leave their home and go somewhere new. They had to give up their own specific culture to integrate into another atolls culture. For instance, we would have to give up the small town life for the city life.
Now, as you’ve heard, nuclear testing isn’t the only thing driving them away from their homes. On some atolls, the king tides, yearly major tides -----are flooding islands, and ruining people’s homes. On March 25, 108 people left the Marshall islands for Arkansas, about a quarter of the Marshall Islands population has relocated. If that were Skagway, at that rate the whole town would be gone in eight weeks. Climate is forcing some to leave, but others choose to stay and fight. They are building seawalls to prevent erosion from taking away their shorelines. The Marshall Islands are the world’s busiest tuna transshipment port. Tony de Brum told us that if the Marshall Islands were to lose 40% of their shore, the world would lose 80% of its tuna. The Marshall islands are just the beginning, they are on the front lines of the climate change war.
The fallout from the nuclear testing spread out over the islands and other atolls was soaked up by the coconuts and other plants. The people who ate the plants were getting heavy doses of radiation. The Marshallese also took in the radiation through the fish they caught and ate from the ocean. This caused them to develop cancer and die, the majority got sick from the radiation poisoning. The women were giving birth to jellyfish babies, small beings without bones. This has affected everyone on the islands. I asked Tony what good has come out of the nuclear testing, he told me that the only good thing that came out of it was the knowledge that we shouldn’t use nuclear weapons. He told me he wasn’t going to give up hope, he said that he wasn’t going to tell his grandson that there was no hope for their islands. Nuclear testing and climate change are the top two things that can destroy humanity. In the Marshall Islands, you can see the effects first hand.
Tony de Brum told me, “I cannot afford to be afraid of anything.” Those words have stuck with me, to this day. We can’t let climate change seem to be this huge problem we can’t solve so why try and fix it? We can’t change the world in a day, but we can start with our community.
Ocean Symposium - Kara Whitehead
One of the rooms that were set aside for the symposium was where the College students, president, and other dignitaries met to debate and address priorities, key areas of concern, and desired outcomes arising from RMI's participation in global forums on ocean-related issues. The other was where the public was allowed to gather and have a Q and A with presenters who spoke both Marshallese and English on their individual topics since they were told that our group planned on attending and none of us spoke Marshallese.
Monday, April 3rd the first topic of the day was dedicated to Sustainable Fisheries which included an RMI Coastal and Oceanic Fisheries, presentations on Sustainable coastal fisheries for food and/or income, IUU Fishing, and the Racing Extinction movie. While we attended most of these and learned a lot about the tuna populations, most of the ladies from our group found ourselves at a booth about sexual health in the Marshall Islands. We went on to learn that one of the leading issues in the educational system is the explosion of teenage pregnancy, sometimes even happening in the middle schools. Girls get pregnant and then drop out of school, not returning, because they have children to raise. The women behind the table were pushing for sexual health classes in the schools to educate the young girls about their bodies and contraceptives. They also wished to address the issue of sexual pressures and assaults in the home.
The Marshallese culture is very meek and shy, especially around the topic of sex. No one wants to talk about preventing pregnancies or wants to speak up about addressing the situation, so it’s stuck and not being solved. These ladies though are trying to get youth groups involved to spread the knowledge. During day one, there was an opening dedication by the President and many presentations including an opening poem on climate change by a student from Laura High School. The day’s presentations included a presentation by Benedict Yamamura on clean-up of the Ocean’s lagoons.
Tuesday was by far the longest day with the discussions on Climate Change Impacts and Marine Pollution, presentations on El Nino, Coral Bleaching, Sea Level Rise and Coastal Erosion, Coastal and Marine Pollution, Reef Ecology and Sewage Outfalls, and Waste Management. The most obvious waste management “program” includes extending the islands by creating a landfill they ironically named “Mount Trash-more”. The Islands are a lot like Skagway in the way that we are rural enough to have issues collecting and separating trash. Instead of spending numerous dollars on shipping the waste out, they are attempting to deal with in their own capacity and with their own resources. With the increase of globalization and straying from their own culture, plastics are everywhere and everything is packaged. At this point, the place for plastics is on the ground. The streets were littered and the garbage situation was appalling especially after coming from our community that we clean twice a year. By packing the garbage onto the edges of the ocean-side, this trash inevitably gets into the water. It creates physical pollution on top of the bleaching which drives away any sort of living beings, as well as potential choking or intestinal obstruction hazard to the ocean populations. As the “high point” of the island increases, and the population of Majuro soars, the waste management issues are going to be a looming problem, one to which the solutions are muddy. The deviation from culture is enhancing the use of American goods, and if the resurgence of culture happened, this trash issue could be slowed.
Wednesday, the final day, was Coral Reefs and Marine Protected Areas. The Marshall Islands are coral atolls, islands built up from the diverse reefs. Much of the sustenance and income comes from the oceans, but because of the recent influx of carbon emissions, the waters are declining in health. Like trees, the ocean absorbs some of the excess of carbon emissions, but from the amounts of carbon, it is absorbing, there are consequences. The depletion of oxygen which creates hypoxic zones, drive populations of fish to new areas where they haven’t traditionally been. In the coral reefs, bleaching is becoming a major issue. Corals and other oceanic creatures are a host to the Zooxanthellae organism, a plant-like life-form that resides in the tissues of its host. Zooxanthellae are one of the most important parts of sustaining a coral reef ecosystem as they help corals complete the photosynthesis process.
From the carbon emitted at exponential rates, the ocean’s systems are beginning to stress. Corals are very sensitive beings and with this sudden continued stress, the zooxanthellae eject themselves from the corals, leaving them without a resource of energy production. When those organisms leave, the corals begin to die. As they turn to brown mush at the bottom of the ocean, the variety of species they support either move on or die with them. The disastrous occurrence affects not only the ocean’s ecosystem and biodiversity in the oceanic zone but also exacerbates the supply of subsistence fishing and income from ocean material. This issue goes on to affect the culture of the people who have been living off the ocean since they first migrated to the islands.
Without the ocean, the Marshallese have no islands, and without their islands, they forget their culture. It’s a delicate balance. The Islanders are facing a plethora of humanitarian problems, and these too must be worked on, but with the ever-rising importance of climate change, it’s all about finding a balance between addressing the community issues and addressing the worldly problem of climate change.
Giff Johnson - Jessica Whitehead
That was the first point the Giff brought up, so as a response, we had to ask, “Why?” He responded, “As you age, the Marshall Islands does not have good medical. These people are going to the States so that they can have health and be covered if they need to be. They are leaving for jobs and education. They are leaving because they believe that the States will provide them with a better life. Now, people already have family living in the United States so that is one way that it has made it easier for them to leave.”
Another thing he pointed out from his personal experience was that there is a huge loss of tradition and a massive increase in modernization. “The challenge the traditions are faced with is that whatever is known is being brushed over by the new modern.” The kids on the more urban atolls are not being taught the traditions and life skills. Only a few kids living on the outer atolls are being taught anything. Giff had told us that it would take years for the kids to learn any of these traditions. Another reason that these children are not learning anything is that many of the elders who knew these traditions are dying, or moving away.
Because there is a critical mass of Marshallese people living in the United States, it has made it easier for them to live but has caused them to lose their traditional systems. Some of the traditions like navigation and medicine were only passed on to the people who were worthy of the knowledge, which has now created a real disconnect with the appreciation of the knowledge.
“A knowledge of tradition links you to a knowledge of your place,” Giff said. He also mentioned an interesting thing that the schools have done. The schools contacted a bunch of native Marshallese who knew many of the traditions and asked them to send in recipes and ways to do things the traditional way. Which Giff says has been very helpful to a lot of people because kids live on an atoll and have no connection to it. They are no longer in an environment that is conducive to doing these traditions anymore, so the book has helped them out immensely. It takes people to teach people.
One of the primary times for people to leave in the Islands is during spring between the months of February to April. Yet this year he believes that there is going to be a downward spike in the migration, due to Donald Trump being elected as president. Around two and fifty people have subscribed to the Marshall Islands Journal, though, as a way to keep connected and see what is going on. Some have also subscribed because they still have family living in the Marshalls.
He was very happy that the Marshall Islands have been getting so much help from the Legislators working with them to better things for their lives. Such as dental and medical. They are doing this as a way to try and keep people in the Islands. Most of the help has come from the state of Oregon.
He didn’t know much about the bombings and radiation poisoning, but he did have some good points and things to say. The main one being on how they did lose their lands and traditions, and they don’t really know what the long-term effects on the islands were. Rongelap, for example, is one of seventy islands in the Marshall’s that hasn’t been touched because the US does not know or want to know what has really happened to it. One of the major environment things you see is that fifty years ago you were eating around ninety percent local food, and today it is barely even a quarter of that.
So what effects have happened to them? One thing people can conclude is that produce and soils have been magnified. Project 4.1 is a contingency for people who have been exposed to much of the radiation fallout. One of the first problems people were having was a thyroid problem. The women who were exposed to it, where having miscarriages, which was the second sign. Most of that information was only taken from areas that only got around half of what amounts of radiation other islands got. Yet a good thing has come out of this. More modern medicine has been taken to the islands and research on radiation poisoning has also increased.
Giff believes that the reason the US dropped the bombs was due to the fact they wanted to beat Russia so badly in having one of the best and most efficient hydrogen bombs. Russia had tested its first hydrogen bomb only months before the US took its troops down to the Islands to start their testing. Yet the saddest thing was both the people in the Marshall Islands and the people of the United States, really knew what they were getting themselves into.
Interview with Milan and Climate Change - Zach Breen
Interview with Milan
Milan studied in the Federated States of Micronesia and went to college in California. Leaving her home for environmental studies opened her up to new perspectives on her culture and the environment of her home. She became more aware of how the climate was affecting her people. That awareness was crucial for her self-direction towards climate change and political activism. She and Kathy work towards giving Marshallese youth similar opportunities for learning abroad and are also working to give them opportunities for direct action.
She told me that a lot of the younger people are more connected to their land than they realize and that they tend to become really interested in expressing and acting on these connections when they get the opportunity to. Specifically, being able to express themselves through poetry, painting and other types of art. The Marshallese people are often very shy, but their emotion is powerful. So being able to portray and express their emotion without having to physically present it is becoming increasingly important.
Hilda Report - Steven McKnight
One of the things that I would like to highlight is that Hilda has a Ph.D. in education. Hilda’s opening sentence spoke to me, she said “Not many people are aware of the Marshall Islands and the problems we face so the more people that can learn about our situation and our country the better. Most of the problems we face could be helped with awareness especially from the U.S.” This sentence shows how the Marshall Islands could benefit from us holding this conference to educate people of our hometown. This also shows how much of an impact that our interest in the Marshallese had on us and the Marshals. From this point, the conversation took on a life of its own with each of us asking questions pertaining to climate change and the wonderful culture that we got the chance to experience first hand.
One of the topics that were brought up under climate change was alternative energy which she answered with the fact that the Marshall Islands government is making a fund to be used for solar cells and solar panels. This shows that this small atoll nation, with little financial resources, are willing to put money towards renewable energy as a future primary power source.
Later, we were talking about the rising problem of the mass exodus of Marshallese out of the country, which continues to be an issue. President Hilda was asked the following question by Danny; “Because of how monumental your presidency is, what are your main focuses for the development of the Marshall Islands as a country?”
I believe this quote speaks as to what her focus is as President; “Education is the basis for a people.” She elaborated on this by saying that college education is one aspect of Marshallese life that she is striving to improve and promote. Another question that was answered by the president is for the policy in the works for slowing and preventing climate-related erosion, to which she answered that there are indeed policy and aid for building sea walls.
By the end of the of the interview we as a climate change group learned more about climate change and what is being done by the Marshall Islands’ government, but almost more importantly we made a connection, a real human connection, which gave insight to culture and added fuel to the climate change project in the form of passion and compassion for the Marshallese people and our hometown of Skagway. Because of this talk with the president, we left with a good feel for how politics and climate change can work together.
The Marshall Islands and Caring - Micah Cook
We waited at the dock for some time admiring the serene thickness of the jungle contrast with the flatness of the pacific ocean around us. No other islands or atolls could be seen from this position, which really puts into perspective how small this island nation is and how at the mercy to the water it is.
A man named Ray brought one of the only trucks on the island to come and get us. The other truck we saw was a pickup truck that was cracked in half held together only by rope. The property that we stayed at was a private yard with a bell apple tree - they were delicious. It was right on the lagoon beach side, with golden beach and pearly sands. After unpacking the first thing we did was go swimming in the ocean, where three of us were stung by jellyfish. Especially Eliza, she got a nice scar up and down here arm that stuck around for three months.
Around the beach were piles of washed up trash, though not to the extent of Majuro. The beach in front of the house was cleaned by the locals who took care of the land. The people on the island were shy, much like those on their sister atoll. The island primary export is cobra, the dried meaty part of the coconut, that is used to make oils and things of that nature. They raised many animals like pigs and chickens. Zach managed to catch one of the piglets that was running around, only to let it go quickly when he saw the mother pig running at him and grunting.
There were also two cats that stayed around. There was an orange tabby we named young blood for some reason and his little girlfriend cat, Machete, who was pragnant with kittens. They were able to eat two coconuts, we were surprised they were even able to do that. Compared to Majaro, Arno is a very different pace. The pace the feel, the whole island was like a different country. It was the definition of island time, where things moved slow and people had barely a care in the world and there couldn’t be much as there were no clocks were around.
The majority of the island was still jungle. With most of the houses going largely without power, though the advent of cheap affordable solar energy has helped the island light the night. There was one store, which sold mostly bottled water and various types of meat. A group of older women were always gathered outside and groups of children would stay and play there from time to time.
On the second night there, a Marshallease woman who had been adopted by an American family told us of a reconnection to her heritage And showed us the proper way to eat coconuts, apparently we were doing it wrong. She helped us to light a large bonfire on the beach. They also served us local raised chicken and fish.
The Marshallese are an incredibly kind people, once you get to know them, the thing is they are all leaving. There is hardly a sole left on Arno, which was the island that we stayed on, or in much of the outer atolls aside from Majuro. This island paradise, with beauty on par with areas like Hawaii and other island nations, the difference with the Marshall island is that the world has largely forgotten about it. It is one those small inconsequential countries like Kwajalein, Nauru, and Kiribas.
That doesn’t make the people that live there any less important. It also doesn’t negate the warnings that these nations show with the onset of major climate change. When these places are gone, in the grand scheme of things, hardly a soul will weep because hardly a person knows that they are there to begin with. But as soon as news starts about Hawaii or a place like that is being flooded, then something will be done.
People have a hard habit of only caring about themselves and their people. The problem doesn’t exist to them until it threatens their way of life. But Guess what? It does threaten our way of life and yours. If you haven’t noticed this town is right on the water, one of those places that will be simply washed away. That is not to say that there isn’t a chance, unless we all, and I mean everyone on this miserable blue marble gets their act together and decides to actually to care. Not enough people care or know how to care. That is what this is for, this conference, to try and teach people even if it is only a town of 800 that there is still a chance. This town can’t save the world but it can very well try.
Student Presentation Conclusion - Zach Breen
Nuclear Testing
Marshallese people are very humble and modest. In early stages of Nuclear testing, many of the affected people did not want to talk about the nuclear wounds they had because they were used to not talking about physical issues that result in physiological weakness and they also did not want to experience ostracization from their community. Avoiding the open confrontation of controversial subjects like nuclear testing, drugs, and sexual intimacy has been practiced for generations. Nuclear testing affected such a wide group of people, that its effects demanded a full communal response. There is a common theme in people coming closer together as a result of mutual harm.
As an outsider I had a glimpse of Marshallese culture, I think that the breaking down of apprehensive walls for support and unity really influenced the assimilation of nuclear testing into their culture. This appears to be similar to how years of slavery became an important aspect of African American culture and assimilation/genocide became an important aspect of Native American culture. It shapes how people live, communicate and deal with their problems.
The bestower of nuclear deformity and irreconcilable trauma is the American government. Despite only a small fraction of people being involved in the actual testing, the American government is largely responsible because of how the majority chose to deal with the mess they created. After the testing was complete, the American government bulldozed the nuclear fallout into the crater created by the bomb, Ivy Mike. The crater was not lined, meaning the Nuclear fallout was in direct contact with the ocean floor. This is extremely important because it was known that one of two main radioactive isotopes, Cesium-137, easily makes its way into the food chain. The body mistakes this element for potassium when actual potassium is not present, so the body begins to use this element like it naturally would.
A concrete dome was then constructed to seal off the nuclear waste. When a city worker is paving our American sidewalks, they make sure to add Rebar into the mix so the sidewalks do not crack. Rebar or ‘Reinforcing Bars’ are metal poles that the cement is poured over; they add support to the structure. The people in charge of building the dome did not include those in their project, which off-the-bat shows that they were not concerned with putting a lot of effort into the project.
This is very similar to how our government illegally buried several thousand pounds of radioactive soil from Nevada testing sites in 12 unmarked mounds around the populated areas in Point Hope. They wanted to test how nuclear radiation would spread in a cold environment and once they were done with their illegal and secret tests, they buried the waste in one large unmarked pit.
Back to the Marshalls, many people had to be evacuated from their islands. They, naturally, wanted to return to their homes, so American scientists came over to test the radiation levels of their land and of the people themselves. The Marshallese had no choice but to trust these scientists when they gave them food, shelter and allowed them back onto what was left of their islands. The lack of American ethics was clearly elucidated when those scientists fed them food that contained, even more, radiation and took them back to their land which was also extremely radiated.
Who the Marshallese were as a people was shown in the raw as they continued to welcome Americans and other outsiders into their world with open and embracing arms, whether those people would later stab them in the back or not. They didn't let grotesque treatment and irresponsibly wicked means of dealing with the nuclear mess create coldness in their hearts and that, even now, really showed when we visited their home. We were constantly engaged with as if we were honored guests who offered nourishment and I think that it was because we were open ears who wanted to listen to their stories and wanted them to experience the justice they deserve.
The Marshallese have been fighting this nuclear legacy since the first bomb dropped in 1946 - yet their cries for justice have fallen on the deaf ears of the judicial branches and continue to fade as their supporters are no longer in Congress. The apparent majority held point of view of our government is that the entire situation was reconciled when the Compact of Free Association was established. The facts, however, are that the damage is still there and the funds offered were insufficient. The Marshallese perspective can be summed up in the words of Giff Johnson, head of the Marshallese Newspaper Depot;
“The U.S. gov. should provide compensation needed to pay Nuclear Claims Tribunal awards and declassify secret reports on Nuclear tests to end a legacy of distrust.” Those words are valid. People want to go home and live their normal lives, but instead, they are forced “...to live in exile of our homeland, like a coconut floating in the sea.”
Climate Change
Climate change is also becoming a significant aspect of Marshallese life and culture. Like Nuclear testing, It is a life-threatening issue that these people must adapt to in hopes for survival. The main difference between climate change and nuclear testing is that it is already affecting the earth's life and geology as a whole and in order for us - as the Human Species that is propelling the entire earth towards death and despair - to make a difference, we must come together and unite against the common enemy of a changing climate.
The Marshall Islands offer a unique opportunity to study climate change because of the low land-altitude relative to the ocean. It is difficult to conceptualize what will happen to the world's continents as the oceans heat up, the land is eroded, species adaptations to changing ecosystems, as well as how climate will affect species relocation. Since the size of the Marshall Islands are a lot smaller relative to the earth's larger land-masses, they show the damage that the other masses will endure, but on a much smaller and more visual scale. The resilient people who live there are theorizing solutions to the issues on their doorsteps and the problems that they are trying to solve are going to be the world's problems in the near future.
- Traditional Knowledge is becoming less reliant because the oceans' currents are changing and the aquatic ecosystems are adapting to the changes.
- As the ocean is losing its balance, it is becoming violent. King Tides are massive waves that cause flooding so bad it reaches the middle of the islands. They used to be very seldom, but they now happen more than once a year and result in mass flooding and the dying off of animals and vegetation due to salt exposure.
- Other water-related storms such as typhoons and monsoons are becoming possibilities where they used to be unheard of.
- The ocean is becoming more acidic as coral reefs are dying. The coral reefs are made of Calcium Carbonate which will cause the ocean to become more acidic as they decompose plus the reefs are entire ecosystems. Their loss will cause food sources to disappear.
- The ocean is literally eating away their land via erosion. Infrastructure that was once far away from the ocean's edge is now broken and lopsided due to damage from the waves.
The Marshallese have insufficient funding, but they are trying to deal with these issues as a government and as individual people.
- City-funded sea wall in Majuro (more are needed, cost $20,000 each)
- Homemade sea wall made from trash and vegetation such as coconut husks and palms in Laura.
- BluCrew dives into the ocean to clean up the trash
- Schools are starting to do ‘clean-sweep-like’ activities
- People are replanting food
- H2O de-salination projects
- Culture Restoration
- Sustainable Sea Transport
- Program to collect outer island batteries
- Awareness is being risen through organizations such as BluCrew, the National Ocean Symposium, the News Depot, Youth to youth and more.
To the Future!
The American government and the American people should get involved and help with funding and theorize how to adapt to the damage already done, prepare for the damage to come and initiate ways we as a human race can be more sustainable. Micronesia is a huge opportunity for progressive research towards sustainable energy sources and to begin practicing the respectful and utilitarian use of natural resources.
Oil is not sustainable. Petroleum contributes to CO2, CO, SO2, NOX, Volatile Organic Compounds, Particulate Matter, heavy metals, and other greenhouse gasses. Oil leaks and spills devastate the environment and we are completely reliant on oil products even though the collection and use are so detrimental to the health of our environment. We know that we are going to run out of oil in the near future, but in order to change how we fuel our transportation and industrialization, we need to research and test new and more sustainable methods. If we spent the time and money changing the way one town or city functioned without a lot of prior experience with the new technology, we would have to re-route how the entire area maintains its power, install the new system, hope that it was installed correctly, and deal with the problems as they came. This is necessary, but insufficient because nobody is willing to put their lives on pause. We are very caught up in our own little worlds.
There is a push for electricity in the outer Atolls. As of now, there is significantly little modernization. Plus, the populations on the outer Atolls are not very large. American scientists and engineers could team up with Marshallese scientists and engineers to spend time creating a more sustainable method for fuel and electricity. They could then install and test their environmentally sustainable creations on the outer Atolls.
If issues came up, it wouldn't be that big of a deal because the economy of those islands would not drastically suffer if they lost power for a few weeks. They are, unfortunately, already used to living without power. Once all the kinks were worked out, those scientists and engineers could present their creations to the United States Department of Energy and begin to replace major nuclear power-plants and fuel-plants with the newly tested and environmentally sustainable energy systems and they could close-to-immediately be put into action. This is surely a romanticized vision, but it is possible and necessary. We would finally be doing something meaningful and beneficial for the Marshallese people who we have so deeply injured while also solving one of the domesticated human civilizations most dire problems that we know we are going to be forced to deal with at some point.
There are also things that we can do closer to home. We are apart of a caring and nurturing community full of intellectual people and we can make a difference. The issues we need to tackle can be broken up into 3 categories: Consumption, Sustainability, and Education.
Drives
- Last year Glacial Smoothies hosted a clothes exchange which allowed the ladies of our community to shop from other ladies closets. Drives like this contribute to less consumption of resources, cheaper clothing is more financially sustainable and this is also direct recycling
- The Rec Center hosts an annual garage-sale where people can donate and buy used items. Again, less consumption, financially sustainable and direct example of recycling.
- Kathy O'Daniel made this really cool structure outside of her home. Its painted red and looks similar to a birdhouse. It is a free book drive. You open up the little plastic door, take the books you want and leave the books you don’t want. We could make little self-running drives like this but for other things too, like canned foods and clothes.
- If there is a small building in town that is not being used, people could volunteer to help create a salvation-army type of store for Skagway. We could make it profit-free so no one would have to actually be there all the time and it could have sections for food, clothing and other necessities.
Sustainability
We have no excuse to not recycle. For a while, the recycling bins that we did have were dumped at the incinerator. We can get bins to put around town and really put effort into only putting recyclable material into the bins. Whitehorse has a great recycling system. We could have a monthly volunteer take the recycling to Whitehorse or perhaps the city could send one of their employees to Whitehorse once a month.
The Boreal forest covers Russia, Mongolia, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the United States, Canada, and Scotland and is home to a wide array of medicinal and nutritional plants. Each season offers something new to work with and spending time gathering food and medicine in the woods a few blocks from your home is very beneficial because it teaches you how to get raw sustenance and also helps you to remember how important an intimate relationship with the natural environment is. There are books that you can buy from the Skagway News Depot such as the Boreal Herbal written by Beverley Gray. she owns the Aroma Borealis Herb shop in Whitehorse.
Education
In order to understand where we currently are relative to climate change and what we need to do now, we need to educate ourselves. This includes listening to people with open ears despite bias and beliefs, but it’s also really important to build up your library of information on your own.
- Sea Level Rise (NatGeo)
- Sea Level (Nasa)
- Images of Change (Nasa)
- Climate Change Time Machine (Nasa)
- September 2017 Was the Fourth Warmest on Record (Nasa)
- Nasa Pinpoints Cause of Earth’s Recent CO2 Spike
- The Consequences of Climate Change (Nasa)
- Biological Proliferation of Cesium-137 through the detrital food chain…
- Alaskan Natives adapt to Political and Ecological change - an essay by Zach Breen
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