Ice all but disappeared from this Alaskan island. It changed everything

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on The Washington Post or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: St. Paul Island, Alaska, is facing profound socio-economic and environmental upheaval as warming in the Bering Sea leads to the near-total disappearance of sea ice
• This change has decimated crab and bird populations, shuttered the island’s main crab processing plant, and triggered severe municipal financial strain, forcing cuts to public services and accelerating community decline

🔭 The context: Historically, St. Paul Island thrived due to its proximity to rich marine life supported by Arctic sea ice
• Its economy was shaped by seal harvesting under Russian and later U.S. control, often under exploitative conditions for the Aleut people
• Since the 2010s, warming trends, particularly the 2018 marine heatwave — have destabilized this fragile ecosystem, culminating in recent catastrophic species declines and economic collapse

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: St. Paul's experience illustrates how climate change incrementally, then suddenly, disrupts ecosystems, economies, and traditional ways of life
• The cascading effects — loss of biodiversity, food insecurity, and community destabilization — are emblematic of the broader risks facing coastal and indigenous communities globally as Arctic and sub-Arctic environments warm at twice the global average

⏭️ What's next: The future of St. Paul hinges on climate resilience measures, emergency funding, and diversification beyond marine-based industries
• Research crucial for monitoring the ecosystem is under threat from federal funding cuts
• If unchecked, ongoing warming and institutional disinvestment could push St. Paul — and similar Arctic communities — closer to irreversible decline within the next decade

💬 One quote: “We’re not freezing in the winter like we used to be,” — Aaron Lestenkof, part of the island’s Ecosystem Conservation Office, summarizing the rapid environmental transformation

📈 One stat: Since 1940, the average surface temperature of the central Bering Sea around St. Paul has risen by 2.4°F, driving unprecedented ecological and economic collapse

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