The words “climate change” makes most people think of global warming and what man has done to cause it. The indigenous people living in the northern sections of the world believe the climate changes are caused by the changes in the Earth’s tilt .
The Inuits are indigenous people who live and hunt off the land and, through the generations, their lives depended on correctly forecasting the weather so they can go out and come home safe. They have noticed the climate changes, and they don’t believe that the extreme weather conditions are caused from global warming.
The Inuits live in the arctic regions of Canada, Greenland, and the United States. Lately, the Earth has experienced extreme climate changes affecting our weather, that range from record-breaking snow totals to massive amounts of rain, earthquakes, wildfires, the spread of disease, and other events.
The reason for the dramatic climate changes, according to the Inuit elders, is caused by the changes of the Earth’s axis. The Inuits are trying to warn the world and NASA that the Earth has tilted or “wobbled” on its axis, changing the position of the sun, moon, and stars.
The elders of the indigenous people learned how to use the sun and stars as their guides, and they all say the same thing.
“Their sky has changed!”
Every day, the elders watch the sun as it rises in the morning and where it sets at night and the climate changes in their environment. They maintain that although the sun rises close to the same place it always has, it no longer sets in the same location.
One of the Inuit elder, Elijah Nowdlak from Pangnirtung, explained that when he was young, the sun used to set close to the highest mountain peak. However, now the Earth has tilted, the sun now sets past the highest peak. He is not sure, when the changes took place or how long over a period of time tit took. He just knows that the sun has changed positions.
The Inuit elders claim the sun is higher than it used to be, and it is in a different position. One of the positive things about this change is that it gives the Inuit people longer daylight hours to hunt. The downside of this is that the sun shines at a more direct angle, and it warms the area up faster than it did before.
Ludy Pudluk from Resolute Bay said that they go out seal hunting for food. They used to have only one hour of daylight to hunt, but now they have two hours.
Greenland, inuits & climate change. https://t.co/aLlimTSwdy
— Amaroq Explorers (@AmaroqExplorers) February 4, 2016
Everything in the sky has changed because of the Earth’s tilt has “wobbled.” There are other extreme changes in their northern environment that rarely ever happened. The wind used to blow from the north, but now it blows from a different direction.
Herve Paniaq explains how the winds have switched directions and changed the way their environment looks and the climate of their area. When they are hunting for food, they would follow the tongue drifts, which are banks of snow resembling a tongue extending outward. They are formed by the north wind and if the stars were not visible, they would use the tongue drifts as a way to tell directions. But now, the wind no longer comes out of the north and the direction of the tongue drifts has changed directions.
The Inuits maintain that in years past, when they were traveling east, they would cross the tongue drift sideways. When the travel east today, they walk with the drifts, because the wind blows out of the east and not the north, as it always had before.
The Inuit elders report they have not had a north wind in a very long time. The more dominant wind comes out of the east, and the climate changes are more pronounced. They now experience winds from the south, which is rare for the people living in these arctic areas. The elders say that the east winds are strong, and they bring in the bad unpredictable weather and climate changes to the region.
To help the Inuits find their way in the darkness hours, they look to the sky and follow the stars. Samueli Ammaq, from Igloolik, said that the stars have changed positions.
The changes in the Earth’s axis has brought dramatic and extreme climate changes to our world’s weather. In the northeast, people are experiencing historic levels of “snow hurricanes.” All across the globe the weather has become unpredictable with dramatic increases in the amounts snow, blizzards, rain, and floods.
“Inuits in Canadian Arctic confront climate change in real time” https://t.co/UbgBzBfvLR pic.twitter.com/IhrhF5GIr3
— NatureWatch (@AttnNatureWatch) December 8, 2015
Jaipitty Palluq, from Igloolik, explains that the climate change is due to the Earth’s tilt, because the sun’s rays hit the land more directly. It is warming up the world at a faster rate than it did in the years prior to 2004.
Scientists blame the extreme climate changes on global warming and they believe it is the reason for the spread of infectious diseases, intense Western wildfires, and the record-breaking warmer temperatures.
However, the Inuits, who continue to live and study the stars, sun, and moon, tell a different story. The Earth’s tilt toward the north is bringing about the dramatic climate changes the world. In the north where the Inuits live, they see the ice melting at a faster rate, and their way of life is no longer the way it was in their grandfathers’ time. As the climate changes, so do their seasons and methods of hunting. National Geographic explains what the climate changes has done to one of the Inuit communities in Greenland.
“Climate change is making the economies of the settlements even more precarious. It has lengthened the periods in winter and spring when ice is too thick for boats to leave harbors yet not thick enough to support sleds or snowmobiles. The unsafe ice affects fishing, but it hurts the region’s hunters more.”
It has changed their way of life and they can no longer hunt food like they did in the past. They would often hunt using dog sleds, but now, with more open water, they have to use boats which scares the animals away.
Seal hunting has become more difficult because the freshwater layer is thicker than it was in the past. Usually the seal that the hunters have killed will sink through a surface layer of fresh glacial meltwater. The seal will float on top of the salt water which is just below the glacial meltwater. Because of the climate changes, glaciers are melting at a faster rate and often times, the seal sinks too far down so the hunters cannot reach him.
Climate changes is being felt around the world and these Inuit elders, Ludy Pudluk, Elijah Nowdlak, Jaipitty Palluq, Samueli Ammaq, and Herve Paniaq have noticed the changes because they depend on the sun, moon, and stars to guide them and help forecast the weather.
What do you think is the reason behind the climate changes? Is there any way to tilt the Earth back to its original position in the sky, or is this just the beginning of major changes that will affect the way we live, work and play in our world?
[Image via Shutterstock]