Eskimos workers process spotted seal ski

Shishmaref, UNITED STATES: Eskimos workers process spotted seal skin in Shishmaref, Alaska, 27 September 2006. The village, home of Inupiat Eskimos, is located 20 miles (32kms) south of the Artic Circle. Shishmaref, on an island reachable only by air and inhabited for 4,000 years, is facing evacuation because of global warming. Temperatures that have risen 15F (4.4C) over the last 30 years are causing a reduction in sea ice, thawing of permafrost on which the village was built and making the shoreline vulnerable to erosion. Scientist report that other Alaskan towns are suffering similar problems, but point to Shismaref as an indicator of what can be expected in other parts of the world. Residents are planning to relocate to the mainland, making them the first refugees of global warming. AFP PHOTO/GABRIEL BOUYS (Photo credit should read GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images)