Latest news with #RonChambers
CBC
26-07-2025
- Science
- CBC
As Canada's thickest glaciers melt, Yukon First Nations wonder what will happen if they disappear
Ron Chambers understands the power of the St. Elias glaciers, because he's experienced it first-hand. He felt it when he camped next to Logan glacier during one of his trips into the vast St. Elias mountain range that extends from the southwestern coast of Alaska inland to the border of Kluane National Park in the Yukon. "We heard huge booming sounds travelling down through the glacier. We also heard sounds like motors, we thought airplanes were coming and nothing showed up. And it was the sounds that the glacier was making." Chambers is a Champagne and Aishihik First Nations citizen and served as the park warden for Kluane National Park for 22 years. He was also the first Yukoner and First Nations man to summit Mount Logan, Canada's highest peak, deep in the St. Elias range in 1975. Now, he says he wants to raise awareness about what's happening to the glaciers that lie just beyond his home. "Even looking out my window in Haines Junction there's a small glacier on the mountains just in front of me — and some of those are disappearing pretty directly," he said. For generations, glaciers in the St. Elias mountain range have shaped the lives of the First Nations people that lived next to them, but human activity is also changing the glaciers. Today, those glaciers are melting at rapid rates due to climate change and local First Nations have been left wondering what their future could look like if the glaciers disappear. For two weeks this July, researchers stayed at the Kluane Lake Research Station on the outskirts of Kluane National Park to study how the glaciers are changing as they melt. Luke Copland, a professor at the University of Ottawa, has been studying these glaciers for almost 20 years. He says he's watched some of them get smaller and smaller each year. "The big ones will be around for a long time — many, many centuries into the future. But these really small ones, those ones are melting away really quickly," Copland said. "And you project that another century there won't be any [glaciers] left of that kind of size." Climate change affecting glacier movement The St. Elias mountain range is home to the largest non-polar icefields in the world. Those icefields are made up of multiple glaciers, which wind through the mountain range like arteries, supplying water to rivers and lakes. The glaciers are dynamic, they can surge forward and retreat, altering the landscape as they move and creating a lasting impact on local ecosystems and communities. Copland wants to understand how glacier motion is being affected by climate change, because that could have an impact on nearby communities in the short term. Glaciers could advance or retreat more rapidly, or more slowly, as they continue to melt, he says. Local communities are already seeing the effects of rapid climate-induced melting. In 2016, warm weather caused the Kaskawulsh glacier to melt even more quickly, creating a gorge. The gorge diverted the water away from the Ä'äy Chù, or Slims River, which feeds Kluane Lake. Since then, water levels in the lake have dropped by a metre. Alyce Johnson, a Kluane First Nation elder and teacher, says she's worried about how chum salmon in Kluane Lake are being affected by lower water levels. "Chum come from the ocean and they come all the way here to the end of this lake. That's where they spawn," she said. "And so with the decrease of water flowing through, that impacts the fish." Glaciers intertwined with Yukon First Nations culture Johnson says her people's stories "live in the glacial system." "The glacial system is a resource. It's a body of water, of frozen lands that are still there that were used as transportation routes," she said. "In our oral histories, our grandmothers talk about going to potlatches or going to a funeral … they would come across the glaciers." Johnson wonders what will happen if in another century some of the glaciers her ancestors once travelled across no longer exist. "How does that impact the language? How does it impact our culture?" she said. "It's going to change, you know, because we rely on that water, we rely on having that relationship to the land." John Fingland, a Champagne and Aishihik First Nations citizen and historian says his nation also has stories and lessons related to the glaciers. This summer, he's been sharing those stories with youth in his community. Despite his understanding of glaciers' importance to Champagne and Aishihik First Nations culture, Fingland says he's not afraid of what could happen if the glaciers disappear. "When you study history, you realize that everything is change…. Our culture is adaptation to change," Fingland said. "When you stand on the glacier that's right beside Mount Logan, you're more than 1,000 meters above the bottom of the valley. And so I'm like, this won't happen in my lifetime, but at some point, if that all melts out, there's a whole other world." Local melting has global ramifications Local communities may be most directly affected by melting glaciers in the St. Elias mountain range, but as these massive icefields melt, researchers say the impacts could be felt around the world. "Globally, about one quarter of all melt coming from glaciers and ice caps – so this excludes ice sheets – is coming from the mountains in this area," said Copland. For Copland and other researchers, a priority now is to take long-term measurements and document what's happening locally, and then apply that to understanding the bigger picture. "The message is that the glaciers are important to everything, locally and globally," Copland said. For Johnson, Chambers and Fingland, it's also about telling others why the glaciers matter. "It's important for glaciologists to come in, understand the stories, understand the landscape, and build that relationship with the Southern Tutchone people and those of us that reside here," Johnson said.
ABC News
06-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Esperance residents worry new links between IGA stores could lead to higher prices
The sale of a small supermarket on Western Australia's south coast has residents concerned that grocery prices will rise. Esperance, 700 kilometres east of Perth, has one Woolworths store and three IGA supermarkets. While it seems like a competitive market, the three smaller supermarkets appear to share more than branding. Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) records show that, although all IGA stores are now owned by different companies with different directors, they have connections. Esperance Shire President Ron Chambers and his wife Carolyn sold the Pink Lake IGA to Perth-based Guru Merchants on Wednesday, after 16 years of ownership. The town's other two IGA stores are owned by Air Voice Supermarkets and Esperance Fresh Food. Records show Prashant Kariya, 38, owns businesses with the same registered addresses as Guru Merchants and Esperance Fresh Foods. He is a former director of Air Voice Supermarket Group, which has the same contact address as Air Voice Supermarkets. None of the listed company directors, nor Mr Kariya, could be contacted for comment. It is understood that some may be out of the country. Esperance Chamber of Commerce and Industry executive officer Jennifer Obourne said there were potential pros and cons to the recent sale but noted concerns about reduced competition between the town's supermarkets. "There's essentially only Woolies versus IGA," Ms Obourne said. Cheryl Green, president of the town's Senior Citizens Association, was worried grocery prices would go up if the three stores worked together. "This would impact greatly on the elderly, who already live on a limited budget." Experts told the ABC that, while inflated prices were possible, the model could also help regional businesses survive. Raymond Da Silva Rosa, a professor of finance at the University of Western Australia, said higher grocery prices were a possibility for Esperance shoppers. He said if the supermarkets worked together, they would have more bargaining power with suppliers and the costs of running each store would fall. But Professor Da Silva Rosa said those savings would only be passed on to consumers if there was competition. "The issue comes where you have one company or one person … dominate a particular town or sector and have all of the shops," he said. Professor Da Silva Rosa said communities across Australia should look for ways to promote competition between businesses to benefit consumers, like reviewing onerous building codes or revising limits on shopping hours. Ms Obourne, from the Esperance Chamber of Commerce, said it was ramping up efforts to attract a third supermarket to town or encourage an existing IGA to change its model to compete with the major supermarket. Elizabeth Jackson, an associate professor of logistics and supply chain management at Curtin University, said small businesses were increasingly difficult to run, especially in regional Australia. She said that, without group models to collaborate and share costs, small supermarkets might fold in remote places. "This business model is allowing food retailers to stay in the regions," she said. Jo Aberle, executive officer of Esperance support service ESCARE, said it was a relief the town still had three IGAs in different areas, ensuring they were accessible to those with limited transport and outside standard retail hours. The only Food Works in Ravensthorpe, 187km west, closed this year. IGA stands for Independent Grocers of Australia. But ASIC records show Mr Kariya, who has connections to all three Esperance IGA stores, directs more than 40 companies, many of which are IGA stores. Yet Esperance is far from the only place where local stores are falling into fewer hands. Across South Australia and New South Wales, for example, the Romeo family owns more than 40 IGAs and Foodland stores, according to their website. Metcash, a large corporation that owns the IGA brand, said it was not unusual for one person or group to own a series of stores. "As a wholesaler and banner operator, we do not have oversight, nor do we control, the way independent retailers structure their business entities." Asked whether a concentration of ownership could harm IGAs "independent" reputation, Ms Jackson did not think so. "What it's very careful to talk about is independence from the big players," she said. "It's still a lot smaller than the Coles, Woolworths, Aldis of this world." In 2023, Metcash said Coles and Woolworths accounted for 65 per cent of grocery sales in Australia, while it held 6.5 per cent of market share.
