Glaciers, permafrost and ice flows are all melting, making Arctic travel more hazardous, while adding to rising sea levels.
Dr.Alexey Kokorin, of the World Wildlife Fund, told the "U.N. OBSERVER" that the snow freezes and melts, then freezes again, making passage over it extremely hazardous. He also pointed out that this causes the deaths of many baby seals, since their mothers give birth and raise their pups in snow caves. When the snow melts, the rooves collapse and smother the pups.
Farther south, other indigenous people are also facing hazards.
Dr.Alexey Kokorin, of the World Wildlife Fund, told the "U.N. OBSERVER" that the snow freezes and melts, then freezes again, making passage over it extremely hazardous. He also pointed out that this causes the deaths of many baby seals, since their mothers give birth and raise their pups in snow caves. When the snow melts, the rooves collapse and smother the pups.
Farther south, other indigenous people are also facing hazards.
In a public demonstration in The Hague, outside the Peace Palace, home of the U.N.'s International Court of Justice, a group of Uwe, Native Americans of Colombia, spotlighted both a major source of global warming (fossil fuels) and an example of what faces indigenous people everywhere - lack of recognition of their rights as human beings.
Berito Colbaria, of the Uwe, said, "We want to defend Nature, Life and the world", pointing out that "Occidental Petroleum has arrived with police to drill on our ancestral lands. They arrived with 1,000 soldiers in October and started drilling."
Berito Colbaria, of the Uwe, said, "We want to defend Nature, Life and the world", pointing out that "Occidental Petroleum has arrived with police to drill on our ancestral lands. They arrived with 1,000 soldiers in October and started drilling."
Doris Cristancho, also Uwe, explained that, "We tried to participate in the decisions, but they arrested us."
According to the International Energy Agency of the U.N., the burning of oil produces 42.7 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, the major source of global warming.
Friends of the Earth and Oil Watch had organized the demonstration outside the World Court . One of their representatives, Jan Beranak, told onlookers that, "This is not only a carbon emissions issue, it's a Human Rights issue."
Paul V. Rafferty
According to the International Energy Agency of the U.N., the burning of oil produces 42.7 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, the major source of global warming.
Friends of the Earth and Oil Watch had organized the demonstration outside the World Court . One of their representatives, Jan Beranak, told onlookers that, "This is not only a carbon emissions issue, it's a Human Rights issue."
Paul V. Rafferty