Global Warming: Polar Bear Threat?
The largest terrestrial carnivore on the planet is in danger of disappearing. Polar bears are facing trouble in the near future as the ice sheets they rely heavily on for survival are disappearing each year. Perfectly at home in the harsh conditions of the Arctic, they use the ice sheets as floating islands where they hunt for food, search for mates, and rest between swims. As the ice sheets melt, valuable limited hunting grounds are reduced and swimming distances between them are increased. Their habitat is disappearing beneath their feet and scientists believe that global warming is behind this growing threat.
So are polar bears really in trouble? More than a fourth of the world’s polar bear population is in sharp decline and alarming evidence of the impact of global warming on polar bears continues to grow. Scientists have gathered evidence of polar bear drownings, cannibalism, starvation, reduced cub survival and denning dislocation.
Polar bears are one of the world’s strongest swimmers but four were found drowned in the Bering Strait and scientists believe that as many as twenty-seven may have perished.
Two female polar bears were found starved to death, malnurished and without any fat stores on their body.
Newborn cubs were crushed to death when their snowy dens collapsed from unseasonable rains.
The majority of pregnant polar bears in Alaska are now digging snow dens on land rather than on sea ice.
So what can we do to help? It’s simple, get involved and raise awareness. The threat of global warming to polar bears has led to them being added to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Greenpeace have put heavy pressure on the Bush Administration to shield the polar bear under protection from the Endangered Species Act. There are plenty of ways for people to make their voice heard and keep pressure on the politicians to do the right thing for these amazing creatures. Take action now!
- Defenders of Wildlife
- Greenpeace’s Project Thin Ice
- Natural Resources Defense Council’s BioGems
- Save Our Environment
Global Warming: Fact or Fiction?
“Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world’s scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced.” This is a quote from Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. Fact or fiction? I haven’t seen the movie or read the book yet, but I for one believe that the writing is on the wall and has been for some time.
For as long as I’ve been in education, I have taught the very concepts and ideas that the movie is founded on. Global warming is something that disturbs me. The majority of scientists agree that we are to blame for global warming. We know what causes it yet we look the other way. We know how to stop it yet we choose not to. It’s just not convenient for us to do anything because it would mean disrupting our way of life. Eventually it will get to the point that we won’t have a choice in the matter and Mother Nature will make the decision for us.
So what exactly is global warming? Carbon dioxide and other gases warm the surface of the planet naturally by trapping solar heat in the atmosphere. This is called the green house effect and makes our planet habitable. However, burning fossil fuels and clearing forests dramatically increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere. Because carbon dioxide has the highest heat-trapping ability of the greenhouse gases, global temperatures are rising.
So how will this effect us? Remember last year’s record number of named storms? A rise in global temperature means a rise in ocean surface temperatures. This is important because that is where extreme weather such as hurricanes and tropical storms draw their energy from, the warmth of the ocean water. The higher the ocean surface temperatures, the stronger and more frequent the storms. In the past, hurricanes would follow warm water currents like the Gulf Stream. That is how the Outer Banks of North Carolina where the Gulf Stream hugs the coast became know as hurricane alley. The current would lead the hurricanes to land as they grew in strength feeding on the energy from the warm water. But in recent years, with the water temperatures rising storms are free to follow alternate paths and still be able to gain strength. Surface water temperatures are higher than they’ve ever been in the Gulf of Mexico and so are the number of storms finding their way into those waters. It’s simple, warmer water equals more and stronger storms. This is just the tip of the iceberg so to speak.
So what do we do about it? That’s where the problem lies. Until the people in charge recognize that there is a problem, it will be a difficult struggle to do something. There are many organizations out there that are growing in numbers to spread the word and effect change. Organizations like Natural Resources Defense Council, stopglobalwarming.org, and Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth campaign are raising awareness and putting pressure on politicians to wake up and get a clue before it’s too late. With each passing election the problem seems to grow and nothing gets done. Individuals need to make their voice heard.
For now, there are some simple things that people can do to make a difference. Cut back on the use of fossil fuels by walking or riding a bike as often as possible, plant trees instead of cutting them down, and recycle, reduce, and reuse. There are many more things that can be done and each of the organizations I listed has great advice on how to do your part. Talking about it may raise awareness, but it won’t matter if people don’t get involved and do their part. Let’s save this planet before it’s too late.
