Climate Change Concerning the Sami

Climate Change Concerning the Sami
By: Camilla Hedlund 



The Sami people are the nomadic natives to the Scandinavian nations. Including Sweden, Finland, Norway and Russia. They rely heavily on the natural resources of the earth and the nomadic patterns of the reindeer. Now while everyone else is concerned about how people will be affected by climate change. It seems as though the Sami are one of the few concerned about the animals. 


The Sami people like I said earlier heard and follow the reindeer when they migrate. With all the ice melting the reindeer are unable to go their normal route. The Sami are the only ones that know this because they witness how terribly this is affecting not only the reindeer but the earth as a whole. In a video the reporter said, “Scientist say that the arctic is warming up twice as much as the resort of the world” this should support the fact that the snow and ice is melting and ruining their path. 



Also the Swedish government relies on products and resources the Sami people have or make. So when the Sami express their concerns, and the government isn't making any attempt to fix it, this frustrates the Sami greatly. In the forests lichen helps the productivity of the forest and provide the reindeer with food. With this threat of climate change this reindeer population is now starving and dying from it. Another reason the Sami are upset is because the forests are getting replaced by timer plantations big corporations are using. Sweden in some ways are addressing climate change. Like putting wind farms up, but in the Sami territory. Therefore upsetting the Sami by threatening their way of life. 


What do you think the Swedish government should do to address the Sami’s concerns? Do you think the Sami have a reason to be scared? Should other Scandinavian nations step in? How greatly do you think this is going to impact the reindeer population?







Comments

Anonymous said…
Before reading this, I didn’t really consider how people who live off of animals in the Arctic would be affected. Although the population probably isn’t large by a nation’s standards, the fact that the government is ignoring an ethnic minority is angering and immoral. The other nations might not be able to directly help the people in another country, but they could put pressure on Norway to pay more heed to the Sami so that a solution can be found.
October 17, 2019 at 1:33 PM
Anonymous said…
I think that is unfair that the Sami people are being neglected, even though they provide such an important environmental service. The culture and the knowledge of the Sami should be promoted and preserved in order to save the native animal life and their lifestyles. Neglecting the Sami, I believe, will lower the population of the reindeer population. If the Sami are a international group, then other Scandinavian nations should step in because the Sami are important cultures within the borders of the country.
October 17, 2019 at 3:07 PM
Urvi Vallapareddy said…
I believe the Sami are in a bad situation. It is difficult because while Sweden addresses climate change the Sami people's lifestyle is being hindered. I think the Swedish government should make negotiations and properly communicate with the Sami people about how to address this crisis. Then possibly create reservations where the Sami people would not be affected. Then holistically, make new plans to mitigate climate change. -Urvi Vallapareddy
October 20, 2019 at 5:08 PM
Anonymous said…
It's sad that so many native communities are neglected by their government. In order to address these problems, in order to preserve the Sami people's culture and lifestyles, the government needs to make negotiations.
October 21, 2019 at 12:08 PM
Anonymous said…
It’s sad that I didn’t even know about this before. I know hoe much we affect animals, but sometimes I forget how much animals affect us. I don’t each much meat, so it slips my mind that some people are almost completely reliant on animal products as food. We should be teaching this. The countries that can help should help, especially Sweden. If they rely so much on the Sami, why would they not help their concerns? I wish I could help them but I have hope that this issue will be resolved with the right people
October 21, 2019 at 1:07 PM
Anonymous said…
This article greatly intrigues me, given that the health and lifestyle of Arctic and sub-Arctic populations, particularly the nomadic sort, had not crossed my mind in regards to the climate change debate. It makes a great deal of sense that these people and animals would be affected by the melting, and I do think that Scandinavian governments and nations should all be pitching in, or in some way stepping in, to mitigate or resolve this crisis. Sweden, in particular, has an obligation to these people to protect their homes and way of life, without disrupting or disturbing their natural way of life. It’s examples like these that should be driving the climate change debate, and I am a strong proponent of governments and organizations taking action to help these people and take a stance against climate change.
October 21, 2019 at 1:15 PM
Anonymous said…
I never knew the Sami people existed until right now. I think the government needs to address the issues before the damage becomes to great. I think the Sami people have a good reason to be scared because the animals could lose everything they know. The Swedish government should do something about it because they are benefiting from the animals. The government should care about the reindeer, not just the benefits they provide. I think the other countries should step in so that the Sami people can have a safe space in all of Scandinavia.
October 22, 2019 at 4:06 PM
Anonymous said…
It's amazing what the Sami people are doing for the reindeer and advocating for them when they don't have a voice. I do think this is a real concern. Just because the population in these parts of the north are small doesn't mean we should care any less about the way of living for this population. The government should acknowledge the reindeer and at least do something to help the population because not only will it affect them in the long run it will also affect the Sami people.
October 22, 2019 at 8:22 PM
Adam Yook said…
I think that it is very important that culture and history is preserved through the generations because they provide such an important role in defining an individual's identity. However, I also beleive that cultures should adapt to some extent to the ever changing world. While it would be nice if every culture could be preserved in the same way as it was a hundred years ago, it is just not possible. I think that one thing that alot of people neglect is the fact that society evolves in such drastic ways that sometimes cultures have to adapt or be lost.
October 22, 2019 at 8:23 PM
Adam Yook said…
The last comment was Adam's. I'm not sure why it does this sometimes...
October 22, 2019 at 8:24 PM
Aerah Kim said…
Reading this made me think much more of the Arctic, before reading I thought the Artic was a stable place where animals and plants were just doing fine, but it's surprising how the government ignores these problems they go through. I think countries should help in any way possible to help the Sami people.
October 22, 2019 at 8:54 PM
Anonymous said…
When thinking of global warming I have always completely forgotten about the fact that indigenous people live in the North Pole as well. I believe Sweden should try and addresses their concerns, but unfortunately I feel there is little they can do. Sweden is one of the most advanced and globally friendly countries on Earth, yet the products and accumulation of other countries wastes such as ours are contributing to this mass scale problem. I feel the Sami are in a bad position and may have to migrate somewhere else soon.
October 22, 2019 at 9:17 PM
Anonymous said…
When thinking of global warming I have always completely forgotten about the fact that indigenous people live in the North Pole as well. I believe Sweden should try and addresses their concerns, but unfortunately I feel there is little they can do. Sweden is one of the most advanced and globally friendly countries on Earth, yet the products and accumulation of other countries wastes such as ours are contributing to this mass scale problem. I feel the Sami are in a bad position and may have to migrate somewhere else soon.
October 22, 2019 at 9:17 PM
Anonymous said…
Most of us know that we should save the arctic, but this truly highlights why we need to save the arctic. The arctic is not just some cool place, it’s also an ecosystem for a surprisingly large amount of organisms, including humans. The fact the government is ignoring the people is frustrating and definitely should be something people become more aware of, or the Sami may die or have to migrate.
October 23, 2019 at 2:51 PM
Anonymous said…
The arctic was a place that need saving and this is the reason why we truly need to save the arctic. There is more to the arctic to than just snow because it is a whole ecosystem. The people there need our help and we need to do something about it because Sami may perish
October 23, 2019 at 5:04 PM
Anonymous said…
It’s easy to forget that even in the most remote places, climate change affects us everywhere we go. Indigenous people are losing their homes and we need to take action and lend a helping hand. This really helps me understand the different aspects of helping the arctic and making sure we combat global warming.
October 23, 2019 at 8:48 PM
Anonymous said…
I find this topic very interesting to think about. We often think of the climate of the tundras, but not the organisms living in it. I’m sure the Samis are more attached to the tundras than we are, but we rarely think of them when considering those areas. I do believe that Scandinavia should keep them in mind while making regulations, as I believe every nation has a responsibility to keep her people’s best interests in mind.
October 25, 2019 at 12:27 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fake Meat Saves the Planet!

Image
By - Adam Yook What is fake meat? Fake meat is a replacement meat composed of alternatives to meat farmed from animals. There are two types of fake meat: plant-based and cell-based. Plant-based meats are created from harvesting the proteins from plants to form a meat-like substance. Cell-based meats are created from growing a single animal cell in a lab culture to grow meat. Why is it better for the environment? Plant-based meat 93% less land and have 90% less fossil fuel emissions compared to equivalent standard beef. However, the biggest environmental benefit is not easily quantifiable. Due to the continual growth of the global population, resources to feed the increase in population are becoming more and more scarce. Land used to produce livestock consumes nearly 30% of the world's ice-free land. As the population grows, that number will only continue to increase if the current diets stay the same. However, fake meat is not as beneficial to the environment as ...
Read more

We Rarely Remember the Rare Minerals

Image
We Rarely Remember the Rare Minerals By: Urvi Vallapareddy Smartphones, military equipment, aircraft engines, and wind turbines all require a resource in common: rare earth minerals (REM). REMs include dysprosium, europium, terbium, and thulium. These elements are necessary for developing high-tech  products, therefore making REMs a highly demanded mineral. Problematically, mining for REMs causes extensive water and soil pollution. Even though REM mining has caused significant destruction in mineral abundant areas, like China, technology companies need these minerals to produce their products, so the pollution continues to intensify. It is not just products like iPads and AirPods, wind turbines require up to TWO TONS of rare earth magnets. It becomes challenging when sources of clean energy require destructive mining in order to be constructed.  workers at a rare earth mining site in Ganxian county, China When it comes to mining, operations h...
Read more

Is it more beneficial to shower cold or hot water?

Image
Aerah Kim Millions upon billions of people take showers, this common activity is known around the world, there are two main groups, people who shower in hot water and people who shower in cold water. Both have positive and negative effects. Showering in cold water is a pleasant temperature to cool you off, calm itchy skin, increases circulation, reduces muscle soreness post-workout, and etc.  There are more to these perks, showering in cold water could also improve your mental health by promoting emotional resilience, a study shows that cold shower can help a nervous system that is resilient to stress. It could also lower the chances of depression, it stimulates "the blue spot" in our brain which helps play a role in easing depression.  Yet, there is a negative effect, once the cold spray hits your body there is a bit of shock that could increase, oxygen intake, heart rate, and alertness. Showering in hot water is a comforting way to relax, to end the day with...
Read more