however, people’s use of oils came before we had engines to burn them. we have always chased fats for their energy. 

before my lindblad expedition trip to southeastern alaska, i subconsciously saw oil as something unnatural and something always damaging to ecosystems and to our own health. i now see oil as just another resource that industrialized societies have exploited and reaped in excess. the way we go about searching for energy, though, can vary from disastrous to or harmonious with nature, and we are at a crucial point in our atmospheric timeline to relearn old and sustainable ways of energy harvesting. 

fish as candles

the revelation began with my introduction to candlefish. on our second day in alaska, i joined a tour of the chilkat valley. with its pristine water and air quality, it is home to the latest salmon run of the year and is thus where eagles congregate in the fall. 

chilkat valley is aptly known as the valley of the eagles for its yearly visit of up to 3,000 eagles that decorate the trees like ornaments. living below the soaring eagles in this part of southeast alaska are the tlingit people who have been able to maintain their artistically expressive and resourcefully subsistent culture. historically, with all that their environment had to offer them, there was enough time for woodcarving, tapestry-weaving, and storytelling. 

“they have so much candlefish that the river turns black during their run,” our naturalist yelled over the bus engine and rattling windows. 

my ears perked up at that new fish name.

“hooligan is another name for candlefish, and it is so dense with oil that once it’s dry, it can be lit like a candle,” he continued. the klukwan clan gathered enough of the candlefish and traded the excess with the nearby abathascan peoples, establishing trade routes that were known as “grease trails.” this oil allowed them to light their homes and communities, as well as store food for up to a year in the oil. the fish itself also offers people half of their daily caloric needs due to the lipid density. agutuk or akutaq was even a pre-freezer ice cream made of hooligan oil, berries, and fresh snow for people in western alaska. the tlingit people who would procure the hooligan oil would mostly use it themselves to preserve berries, such as highbush cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries, year-round.

the fish and its oils provided light, food preservation, and nutrition for people. the grease from the fish is high in unsaturated fats and provides more vitamin a, e, and k than other sources of fat. even meriwether lewis, of lewis and clark, stumbled upon it during his travel and journaled that it was “superior to any fish [he] ever tasted.” with so many benefits and uses, i was amazed i had never heard of this fatty fish. hooligan, however, remains a prized possession only to alaskans. because hooligan is primarily found in southeast alaska, it was not a resource that is known to outsiders and was never harvested on a large scale. 

whales as lamps

 

later that day, back aboard the national geographic sea lion, we spotted and watched a humpback whale join us at the surface. it was bubble-net feeding, creating a tunnel of bubbles in which plankton and small fish would be trapped. then it swam with an open mouth through the middle and burst through the surface. in 2022, it was captured only in our photographs, but if it had been 50 years ago, the spotted whale would have been hunted down. since whales are found in all of the world’s major oceans, they are a prized and sought-out source of oil. 

between the 18th and mid-19th centuries, oil lamps across the united states and much of the western world required oil extracted from whale blubber. while in inuit cultures, whaling is a culturally, spiritually, and materially significant tradition, american whalers went out to sea to harvest profitable carcasses. from when they first arrived to the north pacific in the 1830s, the american whalers over-hunted the waters. and by the 1940s they had pushed north into the bering sea. they were primarily after bowhead whales, since each yielded 100 barrels of oil whereas sperm whales averaged only 45 barrels of oil. 

in addition to the blubber oil, bowheads also provided bristly baleen, of which the baleen plates were cut and filed into corset fixtures, fishing rods, or buttons. the oil was used for lamps, cooking, soap, candles, paint, and mechanical lubrication. since whales provided so much raw material for luxury goods, there is a genre of paintings that glorify the whaling industry for the goods they produced. 

 

whereas subsistent cultures involve the whole community in the hunting, processing, and consumption of a whale, industrial societies left the hunting to the professional whalers, the processing to the factories, and consumption to the elite in societies. 

the commodification of whale oil and baleen were devastating to their populations. in 1853 whaling became the fifth-largest industry in the u.s., where 8,000 whales were killed for the sake of commercial goods. about 20 years later, petroleum wells popped up on the west coast of the u.s., providing an even more accessible and powerful oil. 

oil as explosive modernity

the growth of the new oil industry didn’t correlate with an immediate decline in whale hunting. petroleum-powered engines outcompeted wind-powered sails, and whaleships had a chance to become even more effective. the petroleum industry thus increased whaling efficiency before whaling would be officially banned in 1971. 

 

alaska’s first oil reserves were discovered in 1957, two years before alaska was granted statehood. it was in 1967, though, that alaska became known as an oil hub with the discovery of prudhoe bay’s oil deposits. experts estimated there to be 24 billion barrels of oil, of which 12 billion have been recoverable and so far extracted. 

but today’s oil flow is slowing. the petroleum flowing through the 800-mile trans-alaska pipeline from prudhoe bay is estimated to be about a quarter of its peak flow in the 1980s. not only does the petroleum seem to be slowing, but land sales and industry interest in the region seem to be dropping as well. most recently, the biden administration canceled the cook inlet lease sale which “would have opened more than one million acres for drilling.” 

while this was met with contempt from pro-oil representatives and individuals, the bureau of ocean energy management has canceled lease sales in the region in 2006, 2008, and 2010 due to a “lack” of interest from the industry as well.

having read headlines about alaskan residents relocating towns due to the permafrost-dense soils melting below their houses and infrastructure, i thought all of the state’s residents would be eager to move away from fossil fuels. but while they are feeling the effects of climate change so directly and rapidly, alaskan residents also directly benefit from the alaska permanent fund. the fund provides an annual check to families that is a percentage of alaska’s oil revenues, averaging a payment of $1,600 annually. beyond fossil fuel money however, alaskans can cut down costs by investing in renewables since they already pay almost double the amount citizens in the lower 48 are charged for utilities. 

a future for alaskan energy

on that day on the klehini river when i learned about candlefish, i also learned about a mining operation that has sprung up between klukwan and deishú (now known as haines). across from the river that is home to candlefish, salmon, and eagles, as well as the human residents of the valley, stands a shredded mountainside. known as the palmer project, the mine provides copper and zinc to the metal-heavy electronics and energy markets. here stands the frustrating reality of our industrial society. to continue feeding our energy-intensive lifestyles, we must source the energy from somewhere. 

europe and the united states were once fueled by local vegetable oil, before whales were hunted down in alaska, and later abandoned for oil reserves there and abroad. today, internationally, we are in an era of pushing past fossil fuels to reach mineral-intense electrification. our air may be near free of fossil fuel emissions, but is it guaranteed that our soil and water will be free of leached minerals and chemicals?

 

with four years spent pursuing a bachelors in environmental studies at george washington university, punctuated with my trip to alaska, i continue to be skeptical of an industry-first approach to solving our climate crisis. this is where technological advances paired with profit are expected to spur change. as we’ve seen from how we’ve fueled our societies since the industrial revolution, it is damaging and unsustainable. 

in contrast to phrases we hear in mainstream politics and media like “boost growth,” “revitalize the economy,” and “energy superpower,” the word we often heard in klukwan and describing the tlingit culture was “subsistence.” through art, business, and architecture, even today the tlingit people focus on the renewable and the regenerative. one tlingit woman, jodi mitchell, founded the inside passage electric cooperative, which is an energy group that installs small-scale hydroelectric dams that use slow-spinning blades that small fish can swim through and large fish can swim around. 

mitchell started a renewable energy project that meets human desires and needs as well as those needs of surrounding animals and the land. her work follows the increasingly renewable trend in alaska, where its contribution to state-wide energy has increased by 25% between 2010 and 2019. 

across the state, with many native alaskan-run projects, we see solar projects saving their communities $7,726 each and dams safely built on salmon-rich rivers that plan to soon provide 90% of igiugig’s power. beyond the typical solar and hydro projects we often discuss in the lower 48, alaska also now has biomass facilities that process wood or fish waste and kelp. 

humans, like all living things, need to take resources from the environment in order to survive. but like all other creatures, we collectively need to be more in tune with natural processes so that we don’t continue to strain our environments. 

einstein is quoted as saying, “we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” i deeply believe that we cannot solve an industrial issue with industrial methods. in this time of climate transformation and societal potential, we can use thoughtful technology on a smaller and more local scale to meet our energy needs. not energy wants, but energy needs.

i think it’s time we ask ourselves if we need to hunt a whale when we can just stick with a fish.

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editor’s note: lindblad expeditions, our planet forward storyfest competition partner, made this series possible by providing winners with an experiential learning opportunity aboard one of their ships. all editorial content is created independently. we thank lindblad expeditions for their continued support of our project. read all the stories from the expedition in our astonishing alaska series.

i was grateful to feel that on the boat as well. everyone on board had gratitude for the spaces we were able to explore and learn from. alaska has a long history of extraction where people have come to take advantage of the resources, animals, and people there, and before my trip, i was nervous about contributing to that. but now after talking to the naturalists and other guests, i’ve come to accept that humans, just like other animals do need and use parts of the environment. our responsibility is to not cause damage and be as subsistent as we can. along with the attention to not take away too much, i also realized i need to give back to spaces i’m in. i took away food, water, memories, and knowledge from alaska, and in return i made sure to pick up trash, spread seeds, and not bother animals when i could. going back to dc, i’m eager to grow the connections i have to the natural elements of my urban space so that eventually with volunteering i help can grow forests where we once had a yard; a river where we once had a stream; a family where we once had a group of strangers. i’m so grateful for this experience and am eager provide you with alaska’s story around lipids, from candlefish to whales to oil reserves.

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editor’s note: lindblad expeditions, our planet forward storyfest competition partner, made this series possible by providing winners with an experiential learning opportunity aboard one of their ships. all editorial content is created independently. we thank lindblad expeditions for their continued support of our project. read all the stories from the expedition in our astonishing alaska series.

microplastics are a form of microfibers –– fibers under 5 mm in diameter or just a little larger than a headphone jack. over time, through washes and wears, our clothes’ synthetic fibers like polyester, nylon, and spandex break down and release microplastics into our water systems or enter waste facilities and are then used as fertilizer and absorbed by our produce. the amount of microplastics released is significant. domestic washes alone contribute up to 35% of microfiber pollution in the atmosphere. this is a concern because of how pervasive microplastics are. they’ve been found in our drinking water, in produce such as apples, in markets across the us selling seafood, and even in pregnant women’s placentas. institutions like universities however are more focused on getting rid of visible plastic waste and are neglecting to prevent this major form of pollution now found even in the deepest parts of the oceans. 

in an effort to curb the amount of unnecessary plastic waste the school creates, the george washington university administration issued a single-use plastics ban in the spring of 2021. the decision has the expected (and debatably impactful) restrictions on plastic utensils and bottles at university events but fails to regulate another significant source of plastic pollution that it’s profiting from: synthetic fibers. it is encouraging to see the university switch from synthetic plastics to bioplastics in their kitchenware, but there needs to be a massive change in the school store as well. to begin, here are three suggested edits for the school’s online and in-person store. 

1. no more synthetic knitwear 

out of the 70 designs offered for women’s sweatshirts on gw’s bookstore site, only two sweatshirts are fully made from natural fibers, both being cotton crewnecks. the remaining 70 sweatshirts are between 20-100% polyester. the sweatshirts that are fully fleece are of major concern. researchers found that, on average, synthetic fleece jackets release 1.7 grams of microfibers each wash, which is the mass of about two pen caps. additionally, out of the ten beanies offered, only one was fully made with cotton; the rest were 100% acrylic.

solution: since two sweaters are already made from 100% cotton, gw can reduce its stock of microplastics-shedding sweaters and offer more designs with primarily natural fibers.  

2. no more synthetic bedding

similar to knitwear, the majority of gw-themed blankets offered are made at least partially with synthetic fibers. only one blanket out of five is fully made from cotton, while another is fully polyester, and the rest are a mix between cotton and either polyester or acrylic. like a fleece jacket, the fluffiest and coziest blankets unleash the most amount of fiber when they’re thrown around in the washing machine and dryer. additionally, the 12 bed sheet sets offered on the website are all made out of 100% microfiber which is a synthetic blend between polyester and nylon. while the benefits of these $20 sets are that they are cheap and soft, they imported from an unnamed manufacturer and will inevitably release microplastics. 

solution: again, gw already offers an option for blankets that is made with natural fibers. if the students are unaware of microfiber pollution and mitigation techniques, the school should step in and not even produce and profit from the synthetic alternatives. additionally, it might be worth piloting a cotton sheet rental program, like a hotel, as students only live in dorms with xl twin mattresses for a few years and this would offer a sustainable and cheaper alternative to buying new sets of synthetic bedsheets freshman year. 

3. offer filtration systems for athletic wear 

gw signed a 5-year contract with adidas in 2019 to supply its team and fan merchandise. adidas’ catalog all has 100% recycled polyester items. while some would be intrigued to see the basketball teams don some wool jerseys, gw could account for the polyester items by upgrading the microplastic-catching technology across campus. institutions have the power to contain microplastic pollution, proven by france that has adopted a law that makes microplastics filters a requirement for new washing machines after 2025. gw could push forward a similar agenda by adding microplastic filters to its laundry rooms’ washing machines. for student-athletes living off-campus, the school could also provide microplastic-catching mesh bags to reduce the microplastic release. additionally, to replace general synthetic athletic wear offered to all students at gw’s bookstore, biodegradable options could be introduced from companies such as tripulse and pangaia. to match the growing demand for sustainable options, particularly by gen z-ers, these sustainable apparel companies use tencel, a light breathable biodegradable fabric made from wood pulp, along with roica v550, a biodegradable replacement for the typical petroleum-based elastics. 

solution: gw should add microfiber filters to laundry machines on campus and provide microplastic-catching mesh bags to athletes as there are no other team sports-appropriate alternatives. additionally, the school store could print and display infographics of care tips on how to mitigate microplastic pollution. 

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you may be asking why we should be so fussed over synthetic fibers when cotton and wool fibers also may pass through water treatment facilities. the two main concerns are ingestion and biomagnification. first, scientists are already finding synthetic fiber-filled gastrointestinal tracts in small fish, which is preventing them from eating and digesting actual food. second, because of these fibers’ porous and hydrophobic properties along with their chemical-heavy production, we put carnivores at most risk of biomagnified chemical poisoning as the chemicals accumulate up the food chain. 

gw’s single-use plastics ban just focuses on the more visible plastic waste, but more attention needs to be directed at the issue that’s unknowingly made it into our own bodies. according to polling in 2020, approximately 60% of us consumers have never heard of microplastics before, so it falls on gw as an educational institution to inform its students and the public on the issue. gw’s current disposable plastics ban is a great statement against a well-known issue, but there’s a truly remarkable opportunity for the school to be the first to recall at least part of its school merchandise due to unsustainable and harmful materials. while the university may not have much say over what packaging third-party food vendors on campus offer (as noted in the plan), gw has full control over the designs of the merchandise it orders. if the school and its students are committed to eradicating disposable plastics, they should also consider the microplastics they unknowingly dispose of every time they do their laundry. 

if you don’t know much about the country, you certainly know what it looks like thanks to hollywood location scouts. most recently, “dune” intensifies jordan’s bare rocky landscapes and sprawling desert dunes to depict a water-deprived planet, but there are dozens of other well-known films that make use of the country’s remarkable scenery. jon stewart’s “rosewater” captures the capital’s urban sprawl, “lawrence of arabia” shows off its beaches, and films such as “star wars: rogue one,” “the martian,” “indiana jones and the last crusade,” and the 2019 adaptation of “aladdin” take advantage of its most famous features: the wadi rum desert and the city of petra. 

while most of my american friends’ first time camping took place in a wooded and stream-striped forest, i slept soundly in my sleeping bag beside a fire amongst beetles and scorpions. instead of tackling a shrubby and rocky hill, my first hike was up a seemingly unconquerable never-ending sand dune. even my first time at a dance party was during a fifth-grade class trip with traditional jordanian drumming prompting us to hold hands and rhythmically skip around our campfire’s flames. i grew up in the hollywood backdrop to alien and/or mystical societies and i feel an overwhelming sense of pride, nostalgia, and humor when i see it blown up and projected on the big screen. while hollywood continues to portray a familiar and timeless, dry jordanian landscape, i know from my annual visits and videos sent from my family that it now has an inconsistent and turbulent climate.

to assume that global warming makes the desert hotter and drier would be correct! the world bank confirms that jordan is at high risk for drought and research projects that jordan’s average temperatures will increase from about +2.5°c to +5°c by the end of the century. with a water-scarce country that houses ten million citizens and three million refugees, jordan’s leadership must implement water-conserving infrastructure immediately to save itself from future disasters. however, the cities continue to grow and urbanize amidst the warming climate, which creates more impermeable surfaces that flood with (rather than soak up) rainfall. since water scarcity has been a major environmental challenge for time immemorial, much of the public and leadership overlook flash floods as yet another risk of a warming climate despite them claiming the lives of local children and threatening unknowing tourists. these floods make the country’s projected climate instability even more precarious. 

before expanding on the issue of flooding, it’s important to note that the information available is limited due to a low number of meteorological stations, as well as some research papers being published only in arabic. dr. al-raggad, a jordanian hydrogeologist, said that only in 2016 the jordanian government began monitoring precipitation in real-time, “but the historical data will remain as they are.” regardless, basic climate science tells us that a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, and in a desert setting where temperatures drop as soon as the sun sets, that water is expected to condense and fall. another recently discovered phenomenon called an atmospheric river, may explain how warmer and wetter winds coming up from the african continent reach the dry levant. local researchers have concluded that in the “last two decades, the region has experienced a dramatic shift in its rainfall records patterns,” noting the series of floods that affected cities across the middle east and north africa over the past decade. in jordan specifically, flooding events in the early 2000s affected less than 200 people on average, but in the last four years, the average has been over 200,000.

when hollywood only comes to jordan to film in its undoubtedly breathtaking desert landscape, it not only fails to capture how places like petra now see destructive floods, but also how the country’s urban areas cannot keep up with the changing climate. these flash floods impact the cities as much as, if not more than, the desert. with growing refugee populations and limited funding, urban spaces grow larger with outdated flood systems and increased surface runoff. what can be done?

i was fortunate enough to travel to a nearby country to see how a driven group of urban foresters, theotherforest, adapted to their changing environment. during the summer of 2021, i visited lebanon and volunteered with theotherforest which works on introducing “miyawaki forests” to neglected pieces of land. these forests, developed by the late japanese botanist akira miyawaki, create green spaces that can absorb excess rain as well as provide shade for poorer and neglected communities. by planting native species’ saplings randomly and densely where there’s access to sun and water, within just three years of consistent maintenance the community will get a self-sufficient forest. it’s a process that brings back some of the greenery, biodiversity, and ecological services that a city typically erases.

as i walked through one of the young forests that had once been an abandoned lot, i couldn’t help but think about how i’d love to see this in jordan. the jordanian government is putting in more resources into anti-flooding measures, such as teaming up with the swiss government and the swiss agency for development and cooperation for risk mapping, but i wanted to know if this reforesting approach was taking root there. and i was thrilled to learn from the founder of theotherforest that a similar group had emerged in jordan called tayyun. to prevent future floods and restore biodiversity, tayyun found the powerful self-sustaining solution of urban foresting. these miyawaki forests serve as a green infrastructure method to 1. serve as a carbon sink where shrubs and trees pull carbon dioxide out of the air as part of photosynthesis, 2. create more habitats and encourage a return of biodiversity, and 3. restore degraded land and slow runoff from rain. 

looking through tayyun’s instagram page gave me the same giddy nostalgia as dune’s grand cinematography did, except the former was the documentation of real heroic work being done in the region. in face of the highly damaging and deadly flash floods of the last decade, local leaders have looked to nature-based solutions to soften the devastation of extreme weather. while it’s fun to go to the movies and recognize my home, i prefer to go home and learn how people there are setting an example for resilience for all of us to follow.