Melting Ice in Alaska — Important Questions

A village that was recently and newly completed

Step 1: The phrase 'freshly minted' is used to describe the new village of Mertarvik. Step 2: 'Minted' originally refers to making new coins at a mint. When something is 'freshly minted,' it means it is brand new. Step 3: The chapter's own glossary confirms: 'freshly minted' means 'newly completed.' Step 4: It has nothing to do with mint plants or literal coins. Step 5: The phrase is used figuratively to describe how new and freshly built Mertarvik was when the families arrived.

More than two decades

Step 1: The chapter's opening paragraph states the community 'has spent more than two decades preparing to move.' Step 2: A decade is 10 years, so two decades is 20 years – meaning they had been planning for over 20 years. Step 3: This is a very long time, highlighting how difficult it was to secure funding and build a new village. Step 4: Five or ten years would underestimate the time, and fifty years is too long. Step 5: The correct answer is 'more than two decades,' showing the long and difficult process of relocation.

They were seasonally nomadic hunters who moved between camps

Step 1: The chapter describes the traditional lifestyle of the Yup'ik people in paragraph 5. Step 2: It states that for thousands of years, until the early 20th century, the Yup'ik were 'seasonally nomadic hunters.' Step 3: This means they did not live in one fixed place – they moved between camps according to the season to hunt seals, moose, and musk oxen, and gather berries and wild greens. Step 4: Farming is not possible easily in the Arctic. They were not traders or permanent coastal fishermen. Step 5: So the correct answer is that they were seasonally nomadic hunters, which is a subsisten

It causes roads, pipelines, and building foundations to buckle

Step 1: When permafrost thaws, the ground underneath becomes soft and unstable. Step 2: The chapter clearly states that this is 'causing roads, pipelines, and building foundations to buckle.' Step 3: 'Buckle' means to bend or give way under pressure – so structures built on the ground start to collapse or deform. Step 4: Thawing permafrost does not strengthen the ground – it does the opposite. Step 5: It also releases greenhouse gases, making global warming worse. So the correct answer is that it causes roads, pipelines, and foundations to buckle.