Alaskan with a Disappearing Home

Esau Daniel Sinnok is a delegate of the Sierra Student Coalition and an Arctic Youth Ambassador for the Arctic Council. He lives in Shishmaref Alaska, where he is already feeling the effects of Climate Change. Shishmaref loses 2-3 meters of land each year due to climate change, storm surges and rising sea levels. 

I met Esau because he was sleeping in the bunk above me at our Youth Hostel, Le Generator, in Paris. He filled me in on what was happening at home. Sinnok's family had to move when he was a kid due to rising sea levels. In June 2007, his uncle fell through the ice in a spot that was normally solid during that time of the year. Since then, he has seen regular changes in his day-to-day life. Because ice doesn't form until later in the season, his community can't go hunting when they normally do. But the greatest threat is that all of Shishmaref, Alaska will be under water in 25 years.

Esau came to the conference to get the message out there. He wishes youth activists like himself could get into the negotiation rooms to get their stories told, but as a youth he also feels empowered.

"We are the future leaders of the world."