I live in Nome, a remote, small, Arctic town on the Bering Sea. When I told a colleague last summer that I had heard that President Obama might come to visit, she politely corrected me. Presidents almost never visit Alaska, and definitely not Arctic villages.
But she was wrong.
President Obama made history by being the first sitting president to visit the Arctic last summer. The president and Secretary of State John Kerry hosted ministers from 20 nations at a conference where they discussed Arctic challenges. Obama sampled wild Alaska salmon from the Bering Sea and was welcomed by Alaska Native dancers not far from my home in the nearby village of Kotzebue, Alaska.
Last summer, the president promised to bring his focus to the challenges and the potential of the Arctic. The president spoke passionately to the need to address climate change and specifically noted, "The Arctic is the leading edge of climate change -- our leading indicator of what the entire planet faces."
This week, President Obama's northern focus continues as he hosts the heads of state for Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden in a Nordic Summit. The leaders have much to discuss, but at least one problem facing our Arctic waters could be readily resolved.
Here in Alaska, America's Arctic, warming is more than two times faster than the average global rate. Summer sea ice has been reduced by 40 percent since 1979 with the prospect that the Arctic Ocean will be completely ice free in summers sometime this century.
Commercial shipping companies are plotting new shipping lanes across the "opening" Arctic. This increased ship traffic will dramatically increase the risk of catastrophic oil spills and the disturbance of marine mammals.
Arctic waters include some of the world's most productive ocean ecosystems. Many of the world's largest seabird colonies and most of the world's populations of several whales, seals, and walrus, migrate, breed, and feed here. Some of the world's highest volume fisheries rely on incredibly productive Arctic waters. Indigenous peoples across the Arctic continue to practice traditional ways of life closely connected to the waters on which they rely for food.
The Arctic Council, of which these nations are all members, has identified a catastrophic spill of heavy fuel oil as the greatest threat increased shipping poses to this extraordinary Arctic world.
Heavy fuel oil -- thicker and dirtier than lighter grades -- is both shipped as cargo and used as engine fuel. Because it does not evaporate, heavy fuel oil in Arctic conditions would be virtually impossible to clean up. A spill in open water, where Arctic birds, fish, and wildlife concentrate, could lead to ecosystem collapse.
For these reasons, heavy fuel oil was banned in Antarctic waters in 2010. It should be kept out of Arctic waters too.
The question of prohibiting the use of heavy fuel oil was raised in another international forum just last month. During discussion at the International Maritime Organization, which sets rules for international shipping, both Sweden and Norway voiced some measure of support for restricting the use of heavy fuel oil in Arctic waters. President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also highlighted the need to address this risk when they held their summit in March.
President Obama has made history by bringing focus and attention to the North. Much will continue to change as the climate shifts. But, where there are concrete steps that can be taken to reduce the risks to Arctic peoples and the environment, there is no reason for leaders to delay.
We wish the Nordic leaders well in addressing the issues that make northern life unique. Steps to reduce the risks associated with increased shipping by prohibiting the use of heavy fuel oil in Arctic waters should be a ready action item on that list.
Austin Ahmasuk is a father, hunter, and marine advocate who lives in Nome.
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