Extinction Tourism: Climate Change, Artic Human Zoos and the Politics of Spectatorship

• In Event: Frontiers of Climate Change and Extinction: Rendering Worlds Familiar and Strange

Abstract

Through a perfect storm of circumstances, the Arctic is arguably under siege. The region has come up against a convergence of accelerated climate change, ocean acidification, contamination from mercury, PCBs, etc. According to the Arctic Council, over the last four decades, global warming is most evident in the Arctic region. In fact, “the magnitude of temperature increase in the Arctic is twice as large as the global increase.” This presents a global challenge, because the Arctic is a major driver of global weather systems. When environmentalists talk about climate change, they tend to focus on its enormous and potentially catastrophic costs. But there are others who prefer to focus on its benefits—and profit from them.
The Crystal Serenity cruise ship embarked from Anchorage, Alaska, August 27 2016 on a voyage through the once-impassable Northwest Passage, which became ice-free in summer 2007 for the first time on satellite record. Passengers each paid between $22,000 and $120,000—plus $50,000 in “emergency evacuation” insurance. This has been described as “the world’s most dangerous cruise” and “the ultimate expedition for the true explorer.” An historic voyage, it marks the opening of one of Earth’s last frontiers. It is also a massive, diesel-burning, waste-dumping, ice-destroying assault on what remains of the planet. This ship – which is accompanied by an ice-breaking boat and two helicopters for sightseeing, has an enormous carbon footprint that exacerbates ice loss and climate change in the Arctic.
The technological developments (attending climate change) that have made this expedition possible must be considered in relation to the wider social contexts. Inuit leaders worry that visits by cruise ships could overwhelm their communities, seriously damaging the Arctic ecosystem. And yet, Inuit communities are compelled to service these tourists, who land in their tiny communities in zodiacs, cameras at the ready. Canada is one of the world’s wealthiest nations, yet its Inuit communities suffer from chronically urgent poverty. The Inuit in these communities have been taking workshops to learn traditional beadwork and skin muskox hair into yarn for Inuit-made arts and crafts to sell (cheaply) to the tourists. This paper considers the politics of spectatorship, climate change, and extinction tourism in the Northwest Passage.

Author

• Annette Bickford, York University