The distancing effect of modernization on the perception of water resources in Arctic communities

This paper provides empirical evidence to suggest that modernization, and its resulting infrastructure, creates a filter which distances people from the resources they use. The data presented suggest that installation of a municipal water supply, piped water to residences, affects a community's ability to perceive change in surrounding water sources. Since individual perceptions and values are instrumental in determining whether or not change merits response, failing to perceive change threatens a community's ability to note and respond to variations in critical natural resources. A conceptual model for the effect of distancing from a resource is proposed.