News from a Changing Planet -- This Week on Earth #8

The future of Alaskan king salmon and the mistakes of the past, climate diplomacy between the U.S. and China, more disastrous weather, and other stories I thought were important this week.

A couple fishing for king salmon on the last day of the Pelican derby in Alaska. Credit Nathaniel Wilder for the New York Times

Uneasy lies the head that wears the (king salmon) crown: should we still be eating wild salmon? (New York Times): I thought this story about the state of Alaskan king salmon (Chinook) was incredibly well done.

It really got at the complexity of this situation: competing stakeholders (orcas, salmon, the fishing industry, Native Alaskans, hydroelectricity, consumers, chefs, environmental groups, scientists), what they want (survival, livelihood, cultural longevity, delicious food, reliable electricity to name a few), what compromises we are willing to make, and the problems that come from short-term thinking, or when these different groups think and act on different timelines.

One quote in particular really got me thinking/tugged at my heartstrings. Renée Erickson, a Seattle chef, said, “I don’t want to be the person that serves the last Chinook salmon. That’s an impossible idea to me.”

Indigenous Alaskans harvest and preserve salmon for the winter, but this year there is almost no salmon for fishing. Credit Ash Adams for the New York Times

It hadn’t really occurred to me that there could be a last Chinook salmon that could get caught and eaten, without anyone knowing it was the last one. Though neither my livelihood nor my culture depends on the salmon fishery so I don’t really have anything at stake , I would rather we created a different future, where we let these fish (and consequently, their ecosystem and predators) recover.

John Kerry with Chinese premier Li Qiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Credit Florence Lo for Reuters via The Guardian

The hardest-working special envoy in the business: John Kerry visits China to restart climate talks. (The Guardian):