Thursday, September 5, 2024

National Native News

Photo: Members of the Central Arctic Caribou Herd congregate at the edge of the Arctic Ocean. A recent report by ACAT shows the Arctic Ocean Basin has the highest concentration of microplastics globally, making Arctic animals and people more vulnerable to toxic effects of plastic. (Courtesy Florian Schulz / Anchorage Museum)

A recent report from the Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT) documents extensive community health risks from plastics in the Arctic region.

The report incorporated scientific information from over 250 peer-reviewed studies globally.

Alaska Public Media’s Rachel Cassandra has the story.

According to the report, concentrations of microplastics are higher in the Arctic Basin than in any other ocean basin in the world.

Pangunnaaq “Vi” Waghiyi is the environmental health and justice director for ACAT.

She says plastics and chemicals from all over the world deposit and accumulate in the Arctic oceans, in what is called a “hemispheric sink”.

“Because of our reliance on our subsistence foods and because of where we live, we are some of the most highly contaminated people on the planet, a burden we didn’t create, so it’s so important that we are proactive.”

Microplastics are found around the globe, but studies show the Arctic contains some of the most highly contaminated animals and people in the world.

Scientists still don’t know exactly how microplastics affect peoples’ health, but chemicals in plastics are known to cause cancer, to interfere with how bodies use hormones, and to harm brain and body development in children.

Pamela Miller is a founder and executive director of ACAT.

She says microplastics have been found in placenta, newborn stool, and breastmilk.

“Both microplastics and nanoplastic particles can cross the blood brain barrier. So the short summary of this is that babies are entering this world with their brains and bodies contaminated with plastics.”

ACAT is a nonprofit that advocates for legislation to protect Alaskans from toxic chemicals and plastics.

They worked with State Rep. Andy Josephson (D-AK) on a bill to restrict disposable styrofoam packaging in Alaska.

Styrofoam food packaging is an environmental pollutant and one way microplastics contaminate peoples bodies.

The organization also advocates for a global plastics treaty to reduce production and use of plastics, and to ban adding toxic chemicals to plastics during manufacture.

Dog in a parking lot, Canyon de Chelly, Ariz. (Photo: John Phelan)

Dogs are feeling the heat. Shelters are at capacity – especially on reservations with underfunded infrastructure. And climate change is compounding the problem.

The Mountain West News Bureau’s Hanna Merzbach reports.

When a wildfire burned through the San Carlos Apache Reservation earlier this summer, a rescue team drove around all night picking up dogs with burnt paws.

“So they had to, like, makeshift a shelter, which is really rough to do, especially when, you know, the world’s on fire.”

Taylar Dawn Stagner is the Indigenous Affairs reporter at Grist, a climate-focused publication.

She has been investigating the impact of rising temperatures and more extreme fires.

And says reservations dogs – despite being known as resilient – are having a hard time finding water because of climate change.

“It’s going to make, um, some of our most vulnerable people, but also animals. It’s gonna make it worse for everyone.”

Stagner says tribes are working to expand spay and neuter clinics to curb the dog populations.

A nurse takes a blood sample from a child at the Indian School in Port Alberni, B.C. (Courtesy Library and Archives Canada)

The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) will publicly apologize for its role and the role of the medical profession for past and ongoing harms to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people in Canada.

A ceremony will be held on September 18 in Victoria, British Columbia.

The CMA is inviting Indigenous leaders and community members to attend the apology.

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