It Is Time To Stop!

If polar bears were capable to talk to us, probably this is what they would say,

Please stop killing us, we have the right to live as much as you do.

After so many delays from the Bush Administration to list this specific species under the Endangered Species Act, it is time for us to put an end to these inhumane actions against these majestic wild animals. Once a symbol of Arctic wildlife’s fierce resilience, the polar bear is now so vulnerable to the ravages of the global warming crisis.
Please help to protect polar bears under the Endangered Species Act. The following agencies are fighting for the survival of the polar bears and you can help them as well ---
Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), Greenpeace, and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). To win this fight to save nature’s beautiful creatures, one’s compassion must be supported with decisive action!

Ways to Protect Polar Bears

We need to take action now to protect polar bears and preserve their Arctic habitat. The Big Oil companies in the Arctic need to stop oil and gas drilling if it harms polar bears and we need to push the Bush Administration to start seriously regulating heat-trapping emissions from coming from power plants, cars, and factories, which are clearly hurting the bears. This is a profound acknowledgement of the threat not only to the polar bears’ population, but to the entire Arctic ecosystem.

The Protection...

The Protection was what the Bush Administration left out when it listed polar bears as a “threatened” species. Instead of protecting polar bears from extinction, this plan neglected them and still left them to continue suffering the negative effects of global warming. Basically, this plan refuses to crack down on global warming polluters and will do nothing to stop Big Oil’s invasion of polar bears’ habitat. According to environmentalists,

the Bush Administration’s abandonment of the polar bear isn’t just cruel—it’s illegal.

For this reason, organizations such as Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and their allies are taking the Bush Administration back to court this coming summer, and as in any battle, this will be not easy. The Big Oil and corporate polluters are not going to let polar bears get in the way of their profits without putting up a fight.

Unbelievable!!

Alaska’s political leaders condemned the listing of polar bears as threatened under the Endangered species Act. Gov. Sarah Palin plans to launch a legal counter-offensive. She says,

the state will file suit against the listing decision, because the science is ‘uncertain,’ ‘unproven’ and ‘arbitrary.’

She is planning to use $ 2 million from the state budget for questioning the Endangered Species Act listing. It is unbelievable how these political leaders are saying that proven science of melting sea ice in the Arctic is just mere “speculation” or “arbitrary.” Instead of fighting the listing, these politicians should be fighting to reduce the threat of global warming since the human contribution to the global warming crisis is not just threatening the polar bears, but it is also threatening the world’s habitat.

Polar Bears Reach Threatened Species List

The increasing pressure and multiple lawsuits from various wildlife and environmental groups allowed the polar bears to be listed as a “threatened” species. In consequence of listing the polar bears as threatened, all federal US agencies must make certain that any actions authorized that may affect polar bears must not jeopardize the bears’ survival of their habitat, including oil and gas operations. Unfortunately, as the Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorine says,

there will be no change in oil and gas operations by the US government. Instead, the loss of sea ice, rather than oil and gas development, is attributed as the real reason why the bears are threatened.

The Bad News?

Evidently, the announcement of polar bears being categorized as a threatened species was not enough for the environmentalists. The Bush Administration plan for “protection” is so full of loopholes for oil companies and other polluters that it could be the equivalent of sending a leaky lifeboat to rescue drowning bears. We can simply say that we have finally gotten the Bush Administration to acknowledge the gravity of the polar bear's plight. Unfortunately, such acknowledgement is not enough to ensure the polar bears’ survival. Our fight to protect polar bears must continue.

John McCain Tackles Global Warming!

John McCain is one of the presidential candidates who is making the environment one of the key elements of his presidential bid. According to a Los Angeles Times article, McCain mentioned that it was time to stop quibbling over the causes of global warming. He pledged to deal with the central facts of rising waters and all the endless troubles that global warming will bring. In essence, McCain referred to the melting glaciers in the Arctic Ocean and the vanishing habitats of polar bears.

Does the "threatened" label really help polar bears?

The answer of polar bears being protected by the Endangered Species Act is still up in the air. Even though the Interior Department labeled polar bears as a “threatened” species, the bears still face a difficult future. According to a Los Angeles Times article,

the listing as ‘threatened’ falls short of what wildlife protection groups had hoped for; the designation ‘endangered’ would have brought more substantial protection measures. Plus, since a ‘threatened’ listing doesn’t require the federal government to actively patrol people or industries harming Arctic territories, all challenges contesting how, or even if, the polar bear is being protected will have to navigate the legal system.

In other words, projects such as off-shore drilling in bear habitats will continue to happen since polar bears were not labeled as an endangered species.

Global Warming Is Not The Only Threat For Polar Bears

Even though polar bears are finally listed as a threatened species, there are other factors, such as hunting, that could contribute to their extinction. According to a Los Angeles Times article,

scientists think that the global population of 20,000 to 25,000 bears remains robust, rebounding from the 1960s, when hunting has driven down the population to about 12,000.

Unfortunately, a group of Canadian scientists last month declared polar bears as a “species of concern” instead of a “threatened species”. If polar bears were declared as a threatened species, this could have restricted hunting and thus help protect the polar bear population from extinction.

Polar Bears...Endangered Species List...Not Quite!

Having the polar bears in the Endangered Species List sounds good, but it is not good enough. According to Los Angeles Times...

FOR THE RECORD:

Polar bear's status: Headlines in Thursday's Section A about an Interior Department ruling said that it was listing the polar bear as an endangered species. The Interior Department actually gave the bear "threatened" status under the Endangered Species Act. An "endangered" species is defined by the act as facing likely extinction in its natural habitat, while a "threatened" species is seen as one that's likely to fall into the endangered category in the foreseeable future. —

It seems that the Interior Department final answer of listing polar bears as a "threatened" species may not changed polar bears' future after all.

The Hybridization of Two Species...

The hybridization between polar and grizzly bears used to be a theory. That theory has become a reality due to global warming. As biologist Dr. George Divoky, who has worked in the Arctic region for over thirty years, says,

One of the real things that are happening is that grizzlies are moving north, at the same time the polar bears are forced to be on the beach and we have found a number of grizzly bear polar bear hybrids.

Regions where rarely polar bear used to wander around, now there can be as many as twenty polar bears looking for food. This illustrates the effects of climate change. As polar bears habitat disappears, they face starvation which makes them forage other areas for food. In this intent of looking for food, some polar bears mate with grizzly bears which produce a hybrid bear species which scientists call a grolar bear. As nature can be very uncertain and amazingly resilient, the new hybridization of these two magnificent species may be one of the few probable ways for the polar bear genes to continue surviving in the wild. Now that the genes of these two bear species are starting to mix as the global warming crisis intensifies, some believe that this may be the only way for the polar bear population to avoid total extinction.

How Much Longer For The Polar Bears?

The year 2050 is the time when it is predicted for most polar bears to be dead due to several factors such pollution, hunting, development, tourism, and the global warming crisis. The global warming crisis is the one that contributes the most towards the seemingly imminent extinction of polar bears. According to a CBS NEWS article,

more than two-thirds of the world’s polar bears will be killed off by 2050 – including the entire population in Alaska – because of thinning sea ice from global warming in the Arctic, government scientists forecast Friday.

Unfortunately, polar bears depend on sea ice as a platform for breeding and hunting seals which is their primary food. But, if the sea ice is decreasing, there will be neither habitat nor food for the polar bears to survive. Most likely, polar bears will be facing extinction thanks to the global warming crisis. As a U.S. Geological Survey scientist Steven Amstrup sadly notes,

As the sea ice goes, so goes the polar bears.

Polar Bears Are Not The Only Species In Danger of Extinction...

The melting ice due to climate change could bring disaster for polar bears and other Arctic marine mammals. According to the Science Daily report,

Sea ice is the common habitat feature uniting these unique and diverse Arctic inhabitants. Sea ice serves as a platform for resting and reproduction, influences the distribution of food sources, and provides a refuge from predators.

Without a question, extreme climate change definitely represents a threat for the polar bears and other species. For the polar bears, it is likely to reduce the availability of their prey which will then require them to seek out alternate food sources in order to survive. While some species may be capable of adjusting to rapidly changing food availability, others such as polar bears, may be handicapped by their specific food requirements and hunting techniques.

Arctic Climate Models Can Predict Polar Bears' Future

The climate models play an important role in predicting the future of polar bears according to Eric DeWeaver who is the physical climatologist in the International Polar Bear Science Team. These climate models are a great tool, they are like a system of forecast, they predict how climate will respond to changes, perhaps the increase of greenhouse gas in the air, and they also

point to widespread reductions in sea ice in coming decades.

Although, these models are not precisely one hundred percent accurate, they can still certainly tell us how rapidly the climate is changing and how this is affecting the polar bears habitat.

The Cost of Greed?

The question still up in the air, why the Bush Administration has delayed to answer whether the polar bears can be classified as an endangered species or not? The answer can be very simple as the Associated Press puts it,

the Bush Administration has delayed a polar bear decision to avoid addressing global warming and to avoid roadblocks to development such as the transfer of offshore petroleum leases in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest coast to oil company bidders.

Unfortunately, for the Administration, the profits that they are making from these companies are more important than the damage they are causing to the polar bears and to our planet. For an Administration that deliberately courted many religious people for their political support, isn’t it ironic that this Administration consciously acts on their greedy impulses which, I believe, is considered to be a major sin by religious people.

The Needs of Polar Bears

After 16 months of delays, a federal judge told Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthome that his department has just two weeks to decide whether to present the polar bears as a threatened species. From a political point of view, this decision is very controversial. According to an AEI article,

if the Bush Administration lists the polar bears as endangered species, it would imply that Washington would be seen as acknowledging that humans have helped contribute to global warming and that they are able to play some part in fixing it.

This, in turn, probably would make the Administration to pass some stricter regulations on power plants and factories that emit fossil fuels which would help the environment and thus the polar bears as well. If this happens, it will be likely that the polar bear population survive their seemingly imminent extinction.

Polar Bears Plight Continues

The Polar bear plight continues according to Alaska’s 2 News, KTUU. A research project in the Beaufort Sea is finding some surprising new details about Alaska’s polar bear population. The research project conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey shows that polar bear cubs and their habitat could be declining due to the melting sea ice. Steve Amstrup from the U.S. Geological Survey has been studying polar bears in Alaska for the past thirty years and according to him,

due to warmer temperatures all the way from Barrow to the Canadian border along the edge of the land-fast ice there’s been an open lead that extends out as far as we can see. We don’t really know how far it is to the other side but we do know that it’s much too far for us to fly across.

This means serious trouble for the polar bears. If this continues, the cubs have little chance to survive. If nothing is done, it is very probable that polar bears may become extinct within the next 20 years which is simply a tragic possibility.

Protection For Polar Bears

The ScienceDaily news reported that The National Wildlife Federation urges people to take action to protect polar bears from the impacts of global warming by listing polar bears under the Endangered Species Act (E.S.A.). Unfortunately, organizations such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (F.W.S.) were required by ESA people to issue a final listing decision a year ago. The F.W.S. missed the deadline despite the unprecedented melting of the Artic ice which is a known danger to polar bears. It seems that this kind of action of delaying in listing polar bears as a threatened species is just for the benefit of the Bush Administration since they are seeking to avoid inspection of oil and gas leases in polar bear habitats. It seems that the future of these polar bears currently depends on the Bush Administration. The big question is this…what is more important…the profits that can be made in the oil industry or preserving the very existence of these magnificent animals?

Things Heat Up for the Polar Bears...

The BioGems article focuses on the extinction of one of the most amazing animals in our planet…polar bears. These bears need our help. Their home is literally melting away beneath them due to global warming. Polar bears spend most of their summers roaming in large chunks of floating ice. Unfortunately, without these large chunks of ice, it is difficult for the polar bears to survive. Over the past three decades, more than a million square miles of sea ice have disappeared. Some scientists predict that a large amount of the summer sea ice that polar bears depend on for survival will disappear in approximately in 20 years. As a consequence, the world’s polar bears will face global extinction by the end of this century.

It is obvious that the terrible impact of global warming on the polar bear populations is on the rise due to increasing amounts of drowning, starvation, cannibalism, feeding dislocation, and reduced cub survival of the polar bears. The evidence is here.

It is time for Bush Administration to take action immediately. These furry beautiful animals deserve the chance to have a home like any other animal in this world.

Why is the Bush Administration stalling on saving the Polar Bears?

Polar bears are in real danger of becoming the first mammal to go extinct as a result of global warming. In the repot from Greenpeace USA says,

Alarmingly, scientists predict that the Arctic could be ice-free in the summers as early as 2012, but in many cases the ice has been melting even quicker than expected.

What is taking the Bush Administration so long to put the Polar Bears in the endangered species list? How many bears have to die before this administration realizes that their stalling tactics will bring the bears closer to extinction? 10 bears, 100 bears, 1000 bears?!!! Just give us a number so we will all know when a decisive action will finally take place to save these great animals.