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From the editor: Kivalina sets bar for Northwest with lawsuit

December 3rd 6:42 pm | Carey Restino Print this article   Email this article   Create a Shortlink for this article

Few in the United States could say to be more impacted by glob- al warming than those living on the sliver of land that is Kivalina. Each time a fall storm rolls in over the Chukchi Sea, like the massive storm last month, Kivalina loses a bit more ground. Sea ice, which used to protect this coastline from fall and spring storms, is coming in later and later and leaving earlier and ear- lier. The ice isn't as thick and doesn't attach to the coast as early as it used to. Last year, scientists said the arctic ice pack was as thin it had ever been, and subse- quent reports said the ice was at all-time low levels.

As global warming impacts our world, its impacts are varied and sometimes unexpected. What happens when biological framework that has been in place for as long as man walked on the earth start to change? It's pretty hard to predict in many cases, and so far, what scientists are see- ing tends to exceed their worst- case scenarios. Changes are hap- pening more dramatically than anyone predicted, especially in northwest Alaska.

But coastal communities like Kivalina undoubtedly trump most of the world when you try to measure the way global warm- ing is impacting their lives. People's homes are at risk of being swept off to sea every time there is a major storm. Not even the best engineers in the world can prevent it from happening. It will cost millions upon millions of dollars to relocate this commu- nity of 400 to a safer location. So who should shoulder the burden of that cost?

This week, Kivalina told ExxonMobile as well as a long list of the nation's largest producersof greenhouse gasses that they are responsible for cleaning up their own messes. It was a brave move for a little town of 400, and while other cases have been heard in recent years on a smaller scale, Kivalina's would certainly set a new bar for corporate envi- ronmental accountability in this nation.

There's no doubt that Kivalina's case is a long shot. To even be heard by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the case has to be accepted by a panel of pretty skeptical-sounding judges who heard oral arguments in the case on Monday. Among the sticking points — can you say that a mol- ecule released into the air thou- sands of miles from its Kivalina has an impact there? Science, and the Kivalina lawyer, says it does, but is the U.S. legal system ready to take that leap? We'll find out. And if it does, where does the line get drawn as to who is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and who is just a guy driving his car to work. These were some of the questionsasked by a gruff judge plane on Monday. Is the court system capable of taking on and defining something with such huge impli- cations as this?

Some have compared it to the suit filed against tobacco compa- nies, which seemed at the outset like an impossible David and Goliath situation. But here we are, years later, and the world as it pertains to smoking and litiga- tion has changed and with it, rules about when and how you can smoke. We have become a better nation, many would argue, because of that litigation. Perhaps this will be a similar situation, if the court is brave enough to take it on.

If not, Kivalina and its neigh- bors are in for a long journey. Global warming is by no means stopping, and attempts by world leaders to self-regulate are largely ineffective. Delegates from 191 countries and the European Union are currently meeting for UN-sponsored talks in Durban, South Africa in an effort to create a legally binding agreement for all major greenhouse-gas emit- ters, both in developed and non- developed nations. But talks have gotten off to a rough start, with several nations balking at an effort to replace a soon-to-expire agreement. Among them is the United States, which pulled out of one emission-reducing agree- ment in 2001 and refused to give President Obama any meaning- ful legislation concerning global- warming pollution prior to last year's talks in Copenhagen. As a result, states Al Gore in an opin- ion piece in the New York Times, a golden opportunity was missed. China, which had sig- naled it would join efforts if the United States lead the way, balked at any efforts to curtail global-warming pollution. So the world's two major producers of greenhouse gasses failed to act, while other nations that contrib- ute far less sit waiting at the table.

It has been said that when it comes to issues of the environ- ment, humans will not take action until the impacts from not doing so directly affect those making the decisions. For the people of Northwest Alaska, that time has come, but for much of the nation and world, those impacts are still years, if not decades away, unfortunately. They might suffer the occasional inconvenience, but suffice it to say, if the homes of those people making the calls on the United States' policy were watching their village erode away and their homes at risk for floating out to sea, they might well view the sit- uation differently.

It is the ultimate irony that a place so impacted by climate change is also one of the major sources for fossil fuels. But may- be that is a golden opportunity. The North Slope Borough's new mayor last week pledged to demand a place at the table when it comes to offshore oil and gas development. Perhaps she can bring Kivalina's message and awareness about those impacts straight to those producing the emissions and in doing so, bypass a lot of political posturing. It sounds like an unbalanced fight at the outset, but the vocal minor- ity has effected change in this country before. The people of Kivalina are bravely marching out into the world to tell their story and seek justice. Let's hope they get it, and follow their lead before we lose too much more ground.

 

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