Global warming activists go north
TORONTO – Hollywood stars Salma Hayek and Jake Gyllenhaal joined Canadian Inuits in the Arctic Circle for a traditional spring dance on Earth Day Friday, seeking to highlight the effect of global warming on northern Canadians.
The celebrities joined some 1,000 Inuit – half of whom were children – in their traditional dress and followed elders onto an ice floe to form the image of an Inuit drum dancer. From the air, photographers were able to see the humans spell out the words: “Arctic Warning: Listen.”
Hayek told reporters on a conference call Friday from the Arctic frontier of Iqaluit, Nunavut, that the Inuit were survivors. “We have a lot to learn from them if we follow their wonderful wisdom. Just listen to the land.”
The Natural Resources Defense Council, which sponsored the event with Global Green USA, said even conservative scientific estimates show that half the summer sea ice in the Arctic will melt by the end of this century, as the region warms another 7 to 13 degrees.
The softening permafrost has already driven caribou and polar bears farther north. The World Wide Fund for Nature said earlier this year that many polar bears and some seal species could face extinction in just decades because of global warming.
“Global warming is an abstract concept to most people; we know it’s happening, but we can’t really visualize its effect,” Gyllenhaal said. “Unfortunately, the Inuit people put a human face on global warming, they are literally melting away. They are the canary in the coal mine.”
Many scientists argue that global warming is caused by emissions from the burning of fossil fuels collecting in the Earth’s atmosphere.
“Each of us has a stake in combatting global warming, and the Inuit have reminded us that the clock is ticking,” said Matt Petersen, president of Global Green. “While our federal government in the U.S. fails to act, we must follow the lead of places, such as California and Canada, that are actively reducing their global warming emissions.”
Some 6 million Canadians were expected to attend thousands of events to celebrate the 35th Earth Day, such as picking up garbage and planting trees. Canada has some of the world’s most pristine forests and seas and Canadians are fiercely proud of efforts to protect their abundant natural resources.