内容摘要：The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s

“And so, if this community is really on the frontlines of climate change, it’s experiencing these risks firsthand and is facing the loss of their landscape and their cultural traditions, we sort of inherently understand that as climate injustice,” Marino said.Some believe this injustice has claimed lives.

(AP Video/Jessie Wardarski)Ask John Kokeok about the effects of climate change on his village and he’ll tell you that he started paying attention 15 years ago after a personal tragedy. His brother Norman, a skilled hunter, knew the ice and trails well. Yet during a hunting trip in 2007, his snow machine fell through ice that melted earlier than usual, and he was killed.John blames climate change and he has been retelling his story ever since in hopes of warning younger generations and finding solutions to protect his island community. Like others, he voted to relocate Shishmaref to safer ground. But he also wants to protect its traditions, its way of life. The only way he’d leave now is if he’d had to evacuate.

“I know we’re not the only ones that are getting impacted,” he said in his living room, near a framed picture of his brother on his last hunting trip.“I’m sure there’s everybody else on the coastline. But this is home.”

The sun sets in the horizon as Ned Ahgupuk and his girlfriend, Kelsi Rock, piggybacking their 1-year-old son, Steven, stroll along the beach on the Arctic Ocean in Shishmaref, Alaska, Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The sun sets in the horizon as Ned Ahgupuk and his girlfriend, Kelsi Rock, piggybacking their 1-year-old son, Steven, stroll along the beach on the Arctic Ocean in Shishmaref, Alaska, Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)A beluga whale swims through the Churchill River, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, near Churchill, Manitoba. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

The town is promoting tourism for beluga whales, although those too may be harmed as the entire Hudson Bay ecosystem, including the food the belugas eat, shifts to one usually seen further south. It’s also highlighting visitors’ prospects for seeing the northern lights, spotting birds they can’t see at home, and even trying dogsledding.“In time you’re going to lose bear season. And we know that. Anyway, it’s just a matter of we’re going to have to adapt to that change,” said Mike Spence, mayor since 1995. “You can’t stew over it. That’s not going to get you any points.”

Churchill Mayor Mike Spence, a member of the Cree First Nation, poses for a portrait, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, at the Seaport Hotel in Churchill, Manitoba. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)Churchill Mayor Mike Spence, a member of the Cree First Nation, poses for a portrait, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, at the Seaport Hotel in Churchill, Manitoba. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)