Coastal resilience is the ability in which a city is able to come back from a disaster, and not just react to the threat. The threat we are researching is sea level rise in conjunction with erosion of the coast. Both Kivalina and Newtok are estimated to go under water within ten years, and not much can be done to stop the rising tides of water engulfing the land around these cities.

It is now a common belief that global warming is the main cause for the melting of the sea ice of our planet Earth. The Arctic Sea ice is no exception. Evidences of scientific exploration and research with the aid of satellite technology reveal that the Arctic sea ice is continuously shrinking.

The topic of developing oil prospects in Alaska by offshore drilling concerns of damaging the Arctic environment and the marine life in many ways. The consequences of an oil spill are waters off Alaska are not only financial but oceanic. The offshore drilling affects wildlife directly.

Narwhal populations number around 80,000 individuals (Laidre, n.d.). Threats to narwhals include polar bears, orca whales, and entrapments in sea ice (“The Narwhal’s Tale: Surviving Sea Ice Change,” 2012). Other potential problems include the melting of global sea ice, which will reshape their habitat.