Module VI: The Earth, the Atmosphere and Culture

How are the Earth, atmosphere and cultures all connected?

The short answer is that culture is sandwiched between the Earth and the atmosphere while the atmosphere surrounds everything. However, this fails to even remotely describe the complex interactions that do occur. In my last blog I tied culture into the other components last. Here I feel that culture is more directly affected by the conditions and behaviors of the atmosphere.

Many cultures in the northern hemisphere have long depended on their environments for survival. In the past century the arctic has gained a haze that is due to pollution created further south by factories (as seen in the picture above (www.comicrevolution.net/Factory-Pollution.htm) and other sources. Besides creating a haze that gives the sky a slight reddish tint it brings up other hazards. Often the pollution contains low levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). These aren't dangerous in small amounts, but they don't disperse easily which makes them dangerous. As it settles into the arctic environment it is absorbed by small animals. The PCBs aren't digested and are simply stored in the fat of an animal which is called bioaccumulation. This causes the PCBs to be passed up the food chain and develop into large stores in animals at the top of the food chain. As people eat animals that contain PCBs it is stored into their fat. Some of the effects could be responsible for low birth weight, lowered IQ's, poor short-term memory, and lowered performance in memory and behavioral tests. These effects were directly observed in women who were exposed to PCBs in upstate New York. Similar behaviors could also be seen in rats exposed to PCBs. The arrival of the PCB's are likely due to pollution produced by southern Asia as shown in the image to the left (http://www.theglobaleducationproject.org). If this type of pollution continues to funnel into the arctic it could eventually have a devestating effect of making the northern regions uninhabitable.

The other possibility of what can happen to the arctic regions is made possible by the haze that accumulates in the north. As seen in the Arctic Haze video on teacher's domain it is more than apparent that the haze isn't a natural phenomenon. This haze helps to insulate the Earth by trapping warmth near the ground. This helps to thaw the permafrost in northern areas. As it thaws, methane is given off which could contribute to an eventual increase in global temperature. Research is being continually done on the topic now. There are also attempts at helping reduce the output of pollution in developing countries.

Only time will tell if industrialized cultures in southern areas produce enough pollution to drive cultures out of their northern habitats making the land and air useless in the arctic.

Wayne's Blog Awards!

Now it's time to award this weeks Blog awards. They were chosen based on some very specific criteria that is too complicated to post here in this blog.

Best Star Wars Reference: This goes to Brenda (http://brendasexplorealaska.blogspot.com/p/module-vi-atmospheric-systems-climate.html). Anyone who references Star Wars in their blog I consider to be awesome!

Best Inclusion of Personal Experience: This goes to Dan's Alaska Connections. (http://dansalaskaconnections.blogspot.com/) for sharing some great personal connections.

Greatest Variation in Text Sizes and Colors: Kate's Blog (http://mygustavusblog.blogspot.com/). Need I say more?

Scariest Intro: Franklin's Kobuk River Valley People blog (http://franklin-northwestarctic.blogspot.com/) for including an adult content warning page. I didn't know what I was getting into.

Best to the Point Blog: alaskaZgal's blog (http://lisazalaska.blogspot.com/) for being clear without saying more than needs to be said.