Native villages fleeing climate change effects get millions in aid from Biden administration

  • 📰 YahooNews
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 65 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 29%
  • Publisher: 59%

Energy Energy Headlines News

Energy Energy Latest News,Energy Energy Headlines

Two Native villages in Alaska and a native village in Washington state will receive $25 million each in federal assistance to help relocate to higher ground in the face of climate change-driven erosion and flooding concerns.

from climate change, particularly those located on the shores of lakes, rivers and oceans that could rise or increasingly flood.Tribes will need $4.8 billion in assistance over next 50 years to relocate imperiled buildings, harden water-treatment plants and protect themselves from erosion and flooding, according to a 2020 federal study.

Biden at the conference also pledged better consultation and coordination with tribal leaders on everything from high-speed internet to drinking water systems, electric vehicle chargers and casino licensing. Joseph John Jr. washes freshly caught salmon with his son, Jeremiah John, while waiting for the tide to come in on July 1, 2015 in Newtok, Alaska.Coastal Alaska Native villages are particularly at risk from both rising sea levels and the shortening of the winter ice season, which normally protects vulnerable coastlines from spring storm erosion.

They're also facing the loss of their way of life through subsistence hunting as climate change alters migration patterns of fish, caribou, whales, birds and other food animals.Many Alaska Native villages are considering relocating but have struggled with both finding new land but also philosophical questions about exactly how to move an entire community without losing its identity.

"It is difficult to understate the enormous complexities Alaska Native villages face to relocate their tribal communities," the 2020 federal study concluded. That's especially difficult as "floods, erosion, and permafrost subsidence quickly sluff away land that has been stable for centuries."

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 380. in ENERGY

Energy Energy Latest News, Energy Energy Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Biden administration commits millions of dollars to relocate native tribes threatened by climate changeThe Biden administration announced Wednesday a $135 million commitment to helping to relocate Native American tribes whose homes are threatened by the effects of climate change. Using money from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Voluntary Community-Driven Relocation program, led by the Department of the Interior, will assist 11 tribes with adapting to climate change — or, when necessary, moving their communities altogether. “As all of you know, there are tribal communities that are at risk of being washed away, washed away by superstorms, rising sea levels and wildfires raging,” President Biden said. “It’s devastating.”
Source: YahooNews - 🏆 380. / 59 Read more »