On the Arctic: Frontier, Paradise, Marker of Human Destruction

Emergence Magazine is a quarterly online publication exploring the threads connecting ecology, culture, and spirituality. As we experience the desecration of our lands and waters, the extinguishing of species, and a loss of sacred connection to the Earth, we look to emerging stories. Each issue explores a theme through innovative digital media, as well as the written and spoken word. The Emergence Magazine podcast features exclusive interviews, narrated essays, stories, and more.

Stephen Lezak’s work focuses on the politics of climate change in the context of communities and landscapes in the North American Arctic. In this essay, Stephen explores the paradoxical human narratives that overlay the Arctic landscape—a frontier, a paradise, a marker of our destruction of the planet—as he bears witness to a place that is teetering in an uneasy balance between eternity and loss.

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Stephen Lezak is a PhD candidate in the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge. His work focuses on the politics of climate change in the context of communities and landscapes in the North American Arctic.

Isabel Seliger is an artist and illustrator based in Berlin, Germany. Since graduating from the School of Art and Design Kassel, where she specialized in visual storytelling, she has worked as a freelance illustrator for international clients such as The New York Times, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Bloomberg, and The Atlantic.