Polar Bears in Trouble
It was a cold winter – but not at the Arctic. We’re sad to report that the polar bears are still drowning, the Arctic is melting, and perhaps someday soon, the only remnants of the Arctic will be those fantasy landscapes on lawns around Christmas each year: a magical North Pole, with dancing deer and a thousand shining points of light.
Polar bears are highly visible members of the Arctic community. And they’re singularly dependent on Arctic ice and ice floes, which comprise their habitat. They rarely end up on actual land, and have not evolved to spend much time there. They are tremendously strong swimmers; yet there is only so far they can go when they find the usual ice caps disappearing and storms increasing in frequency and intensity.
According to Professor Rick Steiner, a marine conservation specialist, the bears now face less access to prey, nutritional stress, reduced reproductive success, and cannibalism. It is a difficult time to be a polar bear.
Nature writer Marybeth Holleman describes what's happening to the environment: "Sea ice loss has resulted mainly from elevated Arctic air temperatures, greater solar insulation and heat retention in open water, and incursions of warm waters into the Arctic Ocean basin." The majority of climate scientists attribute the severity of these changes to human actions. Sea ice levels are markedly lower than before 2000, and continue to shrink.
Contributing to the meltdown of the Arctic is the exploration and extraction of oil in Alaska. According to the report "Double Trouble for Polar Bears: Melting Arctic Sea Ice and Offshore Development ” from the National Wildlife Federation and Northern Alaska Environmental Center, more development is planned in the Last Frontier. Exploration and exploratory wells have been permitted in the Beaufort and Chuckchi Seas, which overlap one of the only polar bear habitats in the United States. Not only do these projects disturb the daily life of bears and other animals in the area, but there is a significant risk of deadly oil spills. And of course there's the use of oil itself as a significant contributor to climate change and the melting of the ice caps.
With promising green technology around the corner, it’s time to unite behind the development of alternatives to the discovering and unearthing of fossil fuels.
In Canada, where half the world's polar bear population remains, the government has made plans to oppose the bid to move polar bears to Appendix I of the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) agreement. Currently, polar bears are on Appendix II, which allows for commercial trade in their body parts and fur. This means they can be hunted and killed, and their body parts sold for profit. Friends of Animals will press for the reversal of Canada’s position, and encourage protection for the bears.
There is a fair criticism of CITES that it is very far from being completely effective. Still, it is a big step in ensuring that polar bears have a fighting chance to continue living, and stay around to benefit from a more enlightened society in the future, one which respects other animals.
The bears are down to the wire, but it is not too late for them or other Arctic animals. Climate change and hunting are the two biggest threats; these, are something we humans can counter. We can demand a ban on hunting and trade. We can make changes in our habits, and encourage our friends, family and government to do the same, in order to reduce and even reverse our greenhouse gas emissions.
Our diet is a major factor in greenhouse gas emissions. According to a study done by geophysicists at the University of Chicago, those of us who have committed to vegan living have reduced our total annual emissions from 4 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 1.5 tons!
Adopting positive changes and encouraging others can have an immediate and significant impact. Polar bears and the Arctic should be more than lawn ornaments in the future, and you, by your daily actions, play a role in the outcome.
