Remote Alaskan town exposed to Climate Change damage is an example of how unprepared we are.

There's a remote village located 30 miles south of the Arctic Circle... population 563 people...that sits atop rapidly melting permafrost...

For decades now, the islands cold shores have been eroding into the even colder sea whenever a big storm hits. The residents of Shishmaref are mainly Alaska Native Inupiaq people, have tried to respond to these problems, moving houses away from the cliffs and constructing barriers that run along the northern shore, in an attempt to turn back the forceful waves.

However, in July 2002, the people of the island voted to pack up and move elsewhere, as long-term effects too the island seemed uninhabitable. But, relocation is easier said than done, and 12 years later Shishmaref is still in the same spot, carrying on with life as usual.

But the town is not as picturesque as most little beachside towns, as these storms continue to cause damage. According to the Huffington Post ,

"One of the first things you see as you arrive in Shishmaref is a small wooden building propped precariously on the edge of the beach. A back corner dangles over the edge of an incline, the water lapping just a few feet away.

The town is built on a narrow spit of fine, silt-like sand just three miles long and a quarter-mile wide, surrounded on all sides by water. The only way in or out is by boat or plane, an hour-long flight from Nome that costs around $400 round-trip. A single, short paved road on the island starts just outside of town and leads to the airport; the rest of Shishmaref's streets are sand. Most people get around on ATVs and dirt bikes, or snowmobiles in the winter."

The Huffington post states that most of the houses don't have running water or plumbing, so the town captures rain and snow for reuse, and most residents shower and do their laundry at the public washeteria. Jobs are extremely limited, and given the shrinking size of the island, there's hardly room for new housing or facilities.

Some houses contain multiple generations in a small, single-story wooden structure of a house. Most of the families rely on subsistence hunting, fishing and berry-picking for food for the year. The town is renowned for producing seal oil and carvings from bone and ivory, which are sold to visitors.

Everything else, must be shipped in... such as vehicles, food and construction supplies for houses. Fresh food is hard to come by, unless they hunt or pick it, and general store prices are extremely expensive. gasoline and heating oil are shipped in, with a years supply arriving each summer.

However, this year the island exhausted the year's gasoline supply, and had to wait a few weeks until the next supply came in.

The biggest concern, is the sea's encroachment on the town, and on the end of the runway, as this is the towns lifeline. It is also the only way out of the island if there is an emergency evacuation. Previous storms have already brought the water as close as 75 feet from the landing strip.

A storm in November 2013 washed out several big chunks of the road, taking out 50 feet of earth in some places and making the dump of supplies nearly inaccessible. This means, getting in or out of the town would be impossible, plus retrieving their normal supplies would be deterred as well.

This shows that big storms due to climate change are making it hard for people to live in their home towns, in real time! This is happening now, and people are suffering from the consequences of the entire human race's indulgence. This small town, is an example of where the rest of the world will be in the future, when the climate becomes more unpredictable and detrimental and storms occur more and more and sea levels submerge more towns.

Unless we stop it..

For the full story, read here.

Photo: Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images