Global Warming: Polar Bears in the Artic are in Danger of Extinction

Global warming if ignored will directly affect the lives of every single organism on the planet. One of the first to be gravely affected is the polar bear. Polar bears are a migratory species that spend their summers on northern coastal regions before heading out onto the sea ice each fall to hunt for seals. Ice and snow are essential to polar bear's way of life. Unfortunately, due to global warming, rising arctic temperatures are reducing the amount of sea ice that polar bears depend on for hunting and many are dying. The problem is mainly due to the melting ice because the distance between land and the sea ice that they hunt on is getting further and further apart. The Wall Street Journal reported that “in September 2004, the polar ice cap retracted a record 160 miles north of the northern coast of Alaska, researchers counted 10 polar bears swimming as far as 60 miles offshore. Polar bears can swim long distances but have evolved to mainly swim between sheets of ice.” The picture to the right shows a polar bear standing on the melting ice. The vanishing ice is particularly hard on the breeding females because they must feed both themselves and their cubs. Greenpeace USA reports that in some areas, polar bear birth rates have dropped by up to 15% in the last decade, and the bears show increasing signs of undernourishment.

Polar bears could disappear in our lifetime if we do not take action. The Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Greenpeace filed a lawsuit under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in December of 2006; just one day after scientists released a study that reports that polar bears are drowning after swimming long distances in the ocean between the melting of the Arctic ice. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service responded by announcing its intention to propose that the polar bear be listed as a "threatened" species under the ESA, however no actions have yet taken place. If the polar bear is officially listed in the “threatened” species list, it will be the first species added as a direct result of climate change and the federal agencies will be obligated to ensure that any action they authorize or fund will not jeopardize the polar bears' continued existence or harm its critical habitat.

The floating ice of the Arctic covers an area equal to that of the United States. It is absolutely crucial in the regulation of the Earth’s climate. When that ice melts we lose its “air-conditioning” capacity. Because snow and sea-ice are white, they are highly reflective. Most of the sun's energy comes down and is simply reflected back to space. But due to the retraction of the ice cover, less and less of the Earth’s surface is covered by this highly reflective snow and sea ice, and the dark sea that replaces the melted ice absorbs most of the sun's heat and accelerates the melting of the remaining ice. There is no doubt that the North Pole ice is melting; the picture to the left shows the clear, undeniable difference between the Artic Sea boundary in 1979 and the sea boundary today. The Artic ice cap is melting at an alarming rate. “The vast expanses of ice floating in the Arctic Sea are melting in winter as well as in the summer, likely because of global warming”, said Josefino Comiso, a research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "This is the strongest evidence yet of global warming in the Arctic. If the ice continues to melt at the current rate, it could have profound effects on all life in the Arctic and other consequences around the world,” he added.

Currently the United States is the largest emitter of heat-trapping greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide emissions from cars, trucks and power plants that cause global warming. BBC News reports that one hundred and twenty one nations have ratified the Kyoto treaty to reduce emissions. Unfortunately the United States, the world’s biggest polluter, has not joined. We can take action and begin to reduce global warming pollution now by promoting clean and efficient sources of energy and by supporting the above organizations in their fight. While the proposal to list the polar bear as “threatened” is an encouraging sign, polar bear survival will ultimately depend on the follow-through from all of us. Oregon Zoo conservation scientist David Shepherdson stated that the Arctic may be the most environmentally sensitive area in the world right now, but eventually, the effects of global warming will be felt worldwide. He said wildlife will be among the first casualties.