Is it too soon to begin questioning whether or not we need to add polar bears to the endangered species list? I don’t believe so, because as the years pass the average polar bear’s chance of survival gets slimmer and slimmer. Survival of the fittest no longer can be applied to life in the arctic, because adaptation is a key factor to a species survival but what happens when the environment is changing at a rate that is too fast to adapt to?
The article states that “Climate change is threatening polar bears with starvation by shortening their hunting season, according to a study by scientists from the Canadian Wildlife Service.” The seasons are changing too quickly with the ice beginning to warm up before the polar bears have an adequate amount of food for survival. With the ice melting and spreading apart at faster and faster rates each year the polar bears have less and less time to hunt down their favorite meal, the ringed seal who tend to dwell on ice sheets.
The ringed seals live on the ice of the Hudson Bay, which is becoming increasingly harder and harder for the polar bears to reach each year. The shorter season could be caused by a long-term warming trend that is associated with global warming. The rising amount of greenhouse gases and soot released into our atmosphere is trapping the heat around the Arctic Circle and causing the ice to melt at tremendous rates. The article suggests that “The study says that the sea ice season in western Hudson Bay has been reduced by about three weeks over the last 20 years.” Also, a previous NASA study found that the total Arctic sea ice extent had declined 2.9% over the last decade.
Unfortunately, without the proper amount of food needed to sustain survivability the polar bears are returning to land in poorer conditions. The article reports that “Weight for both male and female polar bears is declining and female bears are having fewer cubs.” The grim search for food is also causing more frequent visits by polar bears to northern communities such as Churchill, Manitoba. The problem used to not be so frequent and the bears were easily scared away from the town. Recently though Harvey Lemelin says “Bears now have to be moved away from property using everything from dogs to vehicles to cracker shells.” Even though the season is not over yet Lemelin has reported that in the last three years the average number of encounters used to be 20, but now has grown to 36 which could still rise.
The article suggests the only way to stop this alarming trend is for "World governments must intensify negotiations to cut greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously beginning the phase-out of fossil fuels and switch to renewable.” The solution may not be a cheap one for all of the companies that contribute to major greenhouse gas emissions, but in the end can there be actually be a price set on the sustainability of the world?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/521451.stm
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