After a long, well-lived life of 83 years, Jesse Thomas “Tom” Beckham, Jr. passed away on Sunday, March 20, 2022. Funeral services are scheduled for Friday, March 25, 2022 at […]
DeSmog
The Life and Death of a Pioneering Environmental Justice Lawyer
How Luke Cole and an Alaskan community spearheaded a landmark climate lawsuit against fossil fuel giants — and helped empower other marginalized communities to stand up for themselves.
Apr 7, 2021 @ 15:44
Luke Cole illustration by Sam Whitham. Clockwise from center, photos courtesy of Nancy Shelby and Brent Newell. Photo of Kivalina children by Dave Malkoff, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Each storm season brings increased stress and fear for the people of Kivalina, a tiny Native village of some 400 Inupiaq people that sits on a small barrier island on the shore of the Chukchi Sea in Alaska. For decades, there was no reliable way of evacuating people in the event of a severe storm; the only way on or off the island was by small plane or boat, neither of which are available or safe during high winds, storm surges, and inundation. A bridge to the mainland was only recently completed. Meanwhile, the island is rapidly eroding out from under the village.