Some of Alaska’s scenic rivers and streams look downright apocalyptic this year because they turned a flagrant orange color — but it’s not due to local pollution, according to scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

In actuality, the orange tinted water is rust, released as the frozen ground in Alaska thaws out due to unchecked greenhouse gasses driving global warming. And it’s leaking into the state’s waterways, according to NOAA’s annual report on the Arctic region, where it’s posing a danger to local wildlife, residents and commercial fisheries.

The day-glo rivers are also a bright orange flag that the Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the world. The massive defrosting is also anticipated to increase sea levels and screw up weather patterns, according to scientists who talked to NPR.

“When the Arctic thaws and warms, it’s having an impact on the global climate,” Matthew Druckenmiller, lead author of the report and senior scientist with the Boulder, Colorado-based National Snow and Ice Data Center, told the broadcaster.

The planet is already showing signs of distress from global warming, such as large-scale forest fires and extreme summer temperatures outside the Arctic, which Druckenmiller described as a giant fridge for the planet.

“The Arctic is warming several times faster than Earth as a whole, reshaping the northern landscapes, ecosystems, and livelihoods of Arctic peoples,” reads the NOAA report. “Also transforming are the roles the Arctic plays in the global climate, economic, and societal systems.”

Zooming back to Alaska, people started noticing the orange waterways in 2018, according to NPR.

“ We heard from people who live in the region — pilots who are often flying over, people in the national parks,”  US Geological Survey research hydrologist Josh Koch told the broadcaster.

As temperatures heats up in the most remote parts of Alaska, permafrost — ground that usually stays continuously frozen — is melting, and that’s unlocking iron in the soil, which oxidizes from exposure to water and air, causing rivers and streams to turn orange. Surveys revealed that this contamination is far reaching, covering hundreds of miles of terrain in Alaska.

“It’s often not orange until it reaches the stream, and then all the iron and other metals can precipitate and create this iron staining,” Koch added.

It’s not clear if residents are being harmed from the polluted water, but local scientists are monitoring the situation, NPR reports.

The other problem with these rusty rivers is that they increase the acidity level in the water, according to the NOAA report, and this may harm fish like Dolly Varden char, whose juvenile offspring have experienced a sharp decrease in numbers most likely due to iron in its aquatic habitat. And that’s pretty bad for everybody in Alaska.

“The food chain is connected to the lives of people living in the Arctic,” Druckenmiller said.

More on climate change: Melting Glacier in Alaska Floods State Capital

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – On the darkest weekend of the year, Alaskans gathered at Cuddy Park to mark the moments before daylight finally begins its slow return.

To celebrate, the Municipality held its annual winter solstice festival, inviting everyone for an evening of cold-weather fun.

”Some of the highlights, of course, are ice skating at the oval right over there, some holiday music, we have Santa and Mrs. Claus wandering around, we are going to have some reindeer here,” Anchorage Parks and Recs Community Engagement Coordinator, Ellen Devine, said.

In addition to seeing reindeer, folks could take a ride around the park in a horse-drawn carriage or sit down and watch a classic holiday film provided by the Alaska Bookmobile.

Despite the frigid temperature, people made their way down to the park to partake in some festive cheer.

“It is my first time in Anchorage,” attendee Stefan Grigoras said. “It’s beautiful, it is a little bit cold, I’m not going to lie, but I want to take a picture with the reindeer.”

Grigoras, like many, took part in the free hot chocolate and took his photo with St. Nick and Mrs. Claus, who were seen wandering around bringing joy to all.

“[The kids] get so excited and, you know, you have everything from run over and almost knock us down with hugs to not even wanting to come near us, and it’s just a fun combination of all that,” Mrs. Claus said.

Some of those kids were Logan and Keegan, who were out and about with their parents, Samantha and Trevor. The two kids asked for things that every child is sure to want.

“A monster truck,” Logan said.

“Bingo,” Keegan said.

”Like Bluey and Bingo,” Samantha clarified for Keegan.

The young family is originally from Arkansas and is excited to be a part of a thriving community.

“I love Anchorage’s community. There’s so many community events, and especially as a young family, it makes me really excited to get together and get to know people,” Samantha said.

As the festivities continued into the night, a familiar holiday message could be heard.

”Merry Christmas, ho, ho, ho,” the Clauses yelled!

“Merry Christmas,” Logan and Keegan said.

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Most Alaskans, perhaps even most Americans, have a knee-jerk reaction to taxes. They affect citizens in a sensitive area — their pocketbook. Perhaps a little analysis and thought could change this normal negative reaction.

It is clear, even to the stingiest among us, that Anchorage and Alaska need more income. Our severely underfunded public schools, decreasing population — called “outmigration” these days — underfunded police force, deteriorating streets and highways, underfunded city and state park budgets, and on and on, are not going to fix themselves. We have to pay for it.

Public schools are the best example. Do you want your first grader in a classroom with 25-plus students or your intermediate composition student in a class with 35-plus students? What if the teacher needs four to five paragraphs per week per student from two such classes? Who suffers? The teacher and 70 students. It’s not rocket science — if you minimize taxes, you minimize services.

I was an English teacher in Anchorage and had students coming into my classroom at lunch for help. Why? They were ambitious. Far more students who wanted and needed help were too shy, too busy or less motivated. With smaller class sizes, those students would have gotten the help in class.

Some Alaskans resent paying taxes that help other people’s children. They often say, “But I don’t have any kids in school!” The same attitude is heard when folks say, “The streets in our neighborhood are fine.” Taxes are not designed to help specific taxpayers; they are, or should be, designed to help the entire community. And we are a community.

As well, lots of people get real excited by sales taxes, especially those who have enough income to buy lots of stuff. They argue that, on balance, sales taxes are unfair — they are regressive. That means that individuals with less income pay a higher percent of their income than individuals with a higher income, and this is true. It is minimized by exempting some expenses — medical care, groceries and the like.

A recent opinion piece published in the Anchorage Daily News explained the disadvantages of a regressive tax. In doing so, the author made an excellent argument for using a different kind of tax.

The solution is to use an income tax. With an income tax, the regulations of the tax can prevent it from being regressive by requiring higher tax rates as individual incomes increase. Alaska is one of only eight or nine states with no state income tax. For those folks all worked up about regressive sales taxes, this is the solution.

Any tax that most folks will accept depends on people seeing themselves as part of the same community. That’s not always obvious these days — but it doesn’t change the bottom line: We still have to pay our way.

Tom Nelson has lived in Anchorage more than 50 years. He is a retired school teacher, cross country ski coach, track coach, commercial fisherman and wilderness guide.

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