Colleen Swan

Kivalina, AK

Will these Alaska villagers be America’s first climate change refugees?

Environment

The 8- to 10-foot-thick ice that once stretched way out to sea is all but gone. Increasingly powerful storms batter its exposed coastline. A lawsuit seeking damages from fossil fuel companies was refused by the Supreme Court. Now the residents of remote Kivalina, Alaska are now wondering how long they can hold out and if anyone is willing to help them.