Native Americans likely to be hit especially hard by climate change, says report

Climate change is likely to hit disadvantaged groups the hardest, and that includes Native Americans, according to a new report. Researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder predict that rising seas will flood tribal lands in Florida and droughts will involve tribes in water wars in the Southwest; coastal towns in Alaska are already suffering from melting sea ice and erosion-causing storms. “We’ve been left out in a number of other major initiatives,” says Native American advocate Steven Etsitty, who says the Navajo have been involved in climate talks with the U.S. EPA. “This is another important one, and we want to be involved.”