Due to the lack of environmental consciousness throughout society, Arctic climates continue to face rising temperatures, causing the unique ecosystems and wildlife to face severe consequences.
The Arctic is classified as regions of the Earth within the Arctic Circle, including Alaska.
Professor Mark C. Serreze teaches various environmental courses at the University of Colorado.
Through his research and actual trips to the Arctic, Serreze feels rising concern about the environment.
“We are seeing warming and thawing and it’s causing massive changes in landscape,” Serreze said. “You’re seeing the very vegetation change in the Arctic: what was formerly tundra is now transitioning to shrubs and the treeline is moving north.”
According to Serreze, these big changes are related to the fact that the globe as a whole is warming up quickly.
Serreze also said the melting of the Arctic’s permafrost, and how it is one of the “biggest concerns.”
“The permafrost becomes active, emitting carbon and methane outside into the atmosphere,” Serreze said.
Science teacher Ian Burley also finds the melting of permafrost to be a concerning issue because methane is a “greenhouse gas thirty two times stronger than carbon.”
“A thawing event will no doubt accelerate any climate change that we’re already starting to feel,” Burley said. “And that’s what’s scary.”
Souderton alumna and Alaskan local Kate McQuade continues to notice changes around her home.
McQuade said she has fears for what the future may bring.
“I think the scariest thing would be not having a healthy environment around us, not having healthy air to breathe and also not having healthy pollution in the earth,” McQuade said.
McQuade believes that people should take accountability for the problem and acknowledge the impacts that their actions have
“I think that people overall contribute to global warming and I think we need to do better,” McQuade said.
Overall, a lack of knowledge on the changing Arctic climate is a pressing issue, according to Burley.
“It’s out of the news, people are tired of hearing about climate change and they don’t want to see it anymore,” Burley said. “That’s concerning because change is hard and if people aren’t made aware or if they start to get tired of the issue, it falls by the wayside.”
As a teacher, Burley encourages his students to stay updated with the more recent news regarding climate change and tries his best to uphold those standards in the classroom.
