During the election, there was a lot of talk about how Sarah Palin could "see Russia" from her back window. Of course, that would only work if she lived on the most remote Aleutian Island.
But what Sarah should be able to see in Alaska is a lot more significant--and a lot more tragic. Most importantly, it's a key to making sure that the voters of Alaska (and perhaps ultimately the voters of Iowa) know how blind, deaf and dumb Sarah Palin is to the real needs of the people she leads.
So come look at Alaska with me "through Sarah's back window."
Sarah, Alaska is in trouble! Not the rich snow machine races that you hang with, but its indigenous peoples. You may not believe in climate change--but your constituents do!
The permafrost on which many of northern Alaska's villages are built is disappearing. The mean temperature of the subsoil has increased by about 1.5 degrees in the past two decades. To the guy at the 7/11 that may not seem like much, but to the folks who are losing their homes (with no insurance, of course) it means everything.
But that's only the beginning. With the disappearance of glacial snow, long-buried toxic chemicals and heavy metals are percolating into the water table. Yupics have six to 9 times higher PCBs than residents of the lower 48. That's due to global transport and the surfacing of contaminants left in Alaska by military in years past. Heavy metals riddle the soil of St. Lawrence Island.
The result has been marked increases in cancer, heart disease, still births, and low birth rate babies in Northern Alaska. (Note to Sarah: Did you know this when you slashed support for special needs children in Alaska?)
And with the disappearance of the ice the game that has formed the safety net for Yupik incomes is disappearing and hunting has become much more dangerous. Many of the elders, who have the deep knowledge of how and where to get this food, are refusing to more on the pocked ice.
To a scientist or humanist, these are just more datapoints to illustrate the tragedy of global warming. But there's also a far greater political significance. Sarah's blindness--her refusal to look in her own back door--should be pointed out to not only Alaskans but to the people of the entire nation before she runs for re-election. We take for granted that Republicans hate the inner city folks but we often neglect to see the results of their policies on the first Americans.
Looking in to Sarah's back yard can give you one of the best views of the utter blindness of the Republican view.
Some of this information came from an address at AAAS this weekend by Viola Waghiyi of Alaska Community Action on Toxics whose website http://www.akaction.org/ is a great source of more information on this ongoing tragedy. Image source: House of Representatives site.