Ground zero

Barrow, the most northerly city in the US, is ground zero for the world’s most controversial oil drilling campaign. Less than 1,200 miles from the north pole, Barrow is also known as a base for climate change study.

Originally called Ukpeagvik, place where the snowy owls are hunted, the town of 4,500 residents was renamed in 1825 after Sir John Barrow of the British Admiralty by naval officers mapping the region for the UK.

Now a new British presence is being established by the Anglo Dutch Shell and it is also not one which is welcome by all, especially some of those who live in the tumble of single story wooden homes that hug the shoreline.

Rosemary Ahtuangaruak is one of them. She describes herself as an environmental justice adviser but is also a former mayor, trained health worker and stalwart defender of Inupiat culture.

“I work with non­profit organisations that want to protect the Arctic Ocean and wilderness areas. It’s about raising the importance of health, tradition and culture in the venues of those (Shell and others) who want to change our lands and waters,” she says, one eye on three grandchildren she is minding.

“It’s about the (any future oil) spill. They cannot clear up in ice conditions which we have for eight or nine months of the year. The eco system renewal, which is needed for the many different animals that migrate here, is important because we are feeding our families from the ocean. We must keep this environment pristine.”