Nathan is a third-generation Alaskan. Growing seasons are increasing, novel invasive species are moving north, fisheries are declining and permafrost is melting. These are merely a few of the impacts climate change has brought to the arctic, as it warms twice as fast as the rest of the nation.

More and more severe ice storms are also coming, and Nathan’s city declared a state of disaster after a severe ice storm in 2014 created widespread power outages. On the other hand, during the summer of 2015, Fairbanks was surrounded by numerous wildfires and air quality rivaled that of some of the world’s smoggiest cities.

Nathan fears the full loss of the arctic as a beautiful, unique ecosystem upon which dozens of cultures and ways-of-life depend. Nathan is working hard to take actions to reverse and mitigate the effects of climate change through work at his college, his membership in the Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition and his Quaker church. Also an advocate for labor justice, Nathan hopes that more rural economies like his can be at the forefront of an energy transition as oil currently provides the bulk of private employment in Alaska.