Ice
By Seth Borenstein, Associated Press Science Writer
Federal scientists said summer Arctic sea ice shrank to its fourth lowest level on record this month, dispelling faint hopes of a recovery.
The National Snow and Ice Data Center announced Tuesday that the Arctic hit its summer minimum last week with 1.7 million square miles of sea ice, down 240,000 square miles from 2014.
Summer minimum sea ice has shrunk by about 38 percent since satellites started measuring in 1979. It reached an all-time low of 1.3 million square miles in 2012 and went back up to 1.95 in 2013 and staying near there in 2014.
Data center scientist Julienne Stroeve said data shows no recovery of Arctic sea ice. Instead, she said global warming shrinks ice cover over the long term, with yearly variations for weather.
ANSEP
By Daysha Eaton, KYUK
As college freshmen dig into their studies at the state’s universities this fall, more Native faces are appearing in science and engineering classrooms. That’s thanks to the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program, or ANSEP. Yup’ik students from the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta are among them. Daysha Eaton with member station KYUK has the story about one student's journey from Tuntuliak to Anchorage.
Cody McIntyre is from the village of Tuntuliak, or as he calls it, Tunt, and he really likes Math.
“I don’t know it just came easy to me, it just made sense to me,” said McIntyre.
He says he wasn’t sure about his direction after high school until an ANSEP recruiter came to his school to promote the ANSEP program. He attended their stem ready program’ through Bethel Regional High School where he aced Algebra 2 and calculus as well as chemistry and physics. Now he’s starting his freshman year of college at UAA.
He also participated in their Summer Bridge program where ANSEP selects 30 or so students from around the state who want to go into STEM careers. First they do a math class and then they do internships. He took a trigonometry class and did an engineering internship with the U.S. Forest Service.
“Sometimes I’d go in the office, the supervisor’s office and work on office stuff, sometimes I’d go out in the field. It was like half and half. My supervisor wanted to give me a broad view of what the forest service does,” said McIntyre.
McIntyre says he learned to survey the ground where a parking lot will be built and inspected a remote cabin for repair. His goal, he says is to get his engineering degree and start his own non-profit. McIntyre did both ANSEP’s summer bridge program and also their acceleration academy.
Michael Ulroan, from Chevak is the Regional Director or the ANSEP High School Acceleration Academy at UAA.
“They earn college credit and these courses are taught by university professors and it give them that exposure to what it is like to be in a college environment. And not only that we build friendship and connections throughout the state,” said Ulroan.
Ulroan has a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering and was an ANSEP student himself. Now he’s working on a master’s degree in Construction Management. He says not all rural Alaska schools offer higher level math and science classes needed to move on to careers in science and engineering, and ANSEP is critical for bridging that gap. It also helps with exposing students to how life works in urban centers and on college campuses before they get there.
“Not too many people travel outside their village and unless that opportunity is there then how are you going to know where to go or what to do, and we provide those students first-hand experience,” said Ulroan.
Cody’s mother says that’s important for Native students in villages.
“Carrie McIntyre, my Yup’ik name is Aang and I’m named after my dad’s mom,” said Carrie.
She says many students in villages don’t have the support to move to an urban center and start college, and family obligations in the village sometimes keep them from going out into the world.
“A lot of students now-a-days are scared to leave their home town,” said Carrie.
But ANSEP helps them. And parents, she says, also have a responsibility.
“I think us parents need to encourage our students to go and experience what outside life is about. Then they can always come back and do what they want to do after they go school and graduate and get their degree and that stuff,” said Carrie.
That’s what her son, Cody plans to do. The non-profit he wants to start. It would work on the huge issue of improving the water system in his village and others where there is no running water and people are still using the honey bucket.
“And the organization’s mission would be to provide clean drinkable water to everyone in the village by making a water system in the village and connect them to all the houses,” said McIntyre.
And with his freshman year of college underway, he’s one step closer to achieving that goal.