Talking with Chief Pakalmar on Ifaluk
        Chief Pakalmar was knowledgeable on a wide range of subjects, including the potential threat of global warming on Ifaluk's ecosystem, as well as being quite a witty character, no doubt a result of his contact with every anthropologist  who had visited the island since the 1940s.  In the course of our talks he coined the saying, "Why? ... Because the weather is changed!"  Which soon became a  rationalization for everything from changing social behaviors on Ifaluk to salt water intrusion in the taro patches.
Micronesian Tour 1999 | Return to Home Page