Polar bears still heading for extinction?

If we look at the latest scientific reports we can see that scientists pretty much agree that lately very little has been done to save polar bears from going extinct. Two years have passed since these majestic animals have been listed under the Endangered Species Act but this alone will mean very little to them because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hasn't done anything to prevent the loss of their sea ice habitat due to climate change, which is the major reason why polar bears are heading for extinction.

The bad news is that federal officials have already declared that the Endangered Species Act will not be used in the attempt to regulate greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming and melting ice in the Arctic Ocean. Such limited power of the Endangered Species Act leaves very little hope for polar bears to survive because it leaves conservationist with with very limited number of tools to protect the polar bears from extinction.

Polar bears need ice to survive, and climate change is melting ice, heavily reducing habitats of these majestic animals. The loss of summer sea ice in Arctic has already passed the critical level, and polar bears are in great jeopardy, especially since all current indicators show that this melting trend is very likely to continue.

The new global climate deal, and strict regulations on greenhouse gas emissions still look like the only option that could save polar bears from extinction but world still looks to be far away from legally binding climate deal, and thus polar bears remain in great jeopardy.

Polar bear parks - Solution to save polar bears?

Polar bears have over the years become the endangered animals everyone is talking about, mostly because of climate change problem in Arctic. Arctic ice is melting fast, leaving less and less available habitats for polar bears which resulted in major polar bear population decline in the last 25 years. According to many estimates if current ice melting trend continues by the end of this century polar bears will disappear from Arctic. What can we do to save them?

One of the better ideas is definitely the latest Russian plan. Russia is about to create a new 1.5 million hectare park in the Arctic between the Barents and Kara seas that should give polar bears more industry-free area. Would these sort of parks be enough to save polar bears from extinction? Yes but only under one condition, namely that industries are kept far away from polar bear habitats, and that world finally agrees to adequate climate deal that would ensure these park remain cold.

World will soon have to make the decision about what is more important, polar bears or industry? If industry continues with its excessive emissions even parks won't be enough to save polar bears because temperatures will continue to rise, melting more and more ice, and polar bears really need ice to survive.

Arctic governments need to recognize the importance of polar bears, and many other Arctic animals that need ice to survive. Industry-free parks are definitely the move in the right direction but this is still not enough to ensure survival of the world's largest carnivores. Without global climate deal this will be nothing more than one good idea that had potential but sadly did not work in the end.

No ice no polar bears

Polar bears are not only world's largest carnivores but are also world's most discussed endangered animal species. Latest reports show there is somewhere around 25,000 polar bears habitating Arctic area, of which two thirds belong to Canada. In the last 20 years there has been major decline in polar bear population, mostly due to the ice shrinking because of climate change. The two most studied polar bear populations, the one in the western Hudson Bay and the other in southern Beaufort Sea have declined by somewhere around 20 percent. Scientific estimations are even worse since many scientists believe how two-thirds of the world's polar bears will be gone by 2050. Scientists at University of Alberta believe that if this trend continues polar bears will be nothing more than a fond memory withing the next 100 years.

Without the global climate change agreement polar bears will disappear within the next 100 years

The main problem for such rapid decline is loss of ice cover on Arctic. Approximately ice cover on Arctic is shrinking 10 percent every decade, and less ice means less habitat for polar bears. The worst thing about it is that Canada (that has two thirds of polar bear population) still doesn't take the polar bear problem seriously. There are no adequate programs that would ensure monitoring and research of current polar bear population, mainly because so far there are not enough available funds. What Canada really needs is a national polar bear plan that would primarily ensure protection of polar bear habitats from industrial expansion. However even this national plan isn't enough without the global climate change agreement. And global climate change agreement is unfortunately still in its first phase - talk-promises, talk-promises. And of course more talk, and more promises.

Polar bears or industry?

In May, after very long prior discussion, polar bear became the first species with a population that the government has classified as threatened by global warming. As many of you already know polar bears need ice to survive, and because of the global warming ice is melting rapidly reducing area of suitable habitats for polar bears population. By giving polar bears the "threatened species" mark government also issued a special rule limiting the types of projects that could be evaluated, thus reducing the number of possible business operations in Alaska in order to protect polar bears and their habitats.

As you can imagine this government decision didn't go well with many Alaskan industries, and now five industry groups have sued the Interior Department over a rule to protect the polar bear that they say unfairly singles out business operations in Alaska for their contribution to global warming. These industry groups say that these laws, designed to protect the polar bear must not be used to block projects that release greenhouse gases in the state. It is basically all about the money and profits as energy companies paid billions for the right to explore for oil and natural gas in polar bear habitat.

This current polar bear protection has very little meaning since it exempted projects in all states but Alaska from undergoing reviews to use endangered species law to control greenhouse gas emissions, but even this shallow protection worries industries because they are afraid that there would be no profits if by any miracle polar bear protection becomes more than a meaningless letter on the paper. Who cares about polar bear population, ice melting, climate change, and global warming when there is almighty dollar in stake?

Alaskan industry can call this injustice but I call this a shame, shame that government talks something and then does something completely else, shame that industry in all US states doesn't need to be compatible with endangered species law to control greenhouse gas emissions, shame that economy is always in front of the ecology, shame that dollar is more important than our planet.

Global warming is global ecological problem that needs only action, and not some meaningless words or laws that are nothing more than simple letters on the paper. Unless we stop global warming ice will continue to melt, and then at one point there won't be any ice left, as well as the polar bear population. Is almighty dollar really worth this?

Polar bears or the industry?

Endangered animals – Polar bear

Polar bear is the largest bear on Earth and lives in Arctic. This large carnivore is weighing 300-600 kg (660-1320 lb), which depends on age and sex, where adult females are about half the size of males. This arctic predator hunts everything he can eat, including humans and is very dangerous when nearby. But as many other species before him polar bear has become endangered species too and is brought to the edge of extinction because of global warming that is melting the ice in the polar sea.

Some predictions estimate that number of polar bears by the year 2050 will be only two thirds of the current number, all because of global warming as a direct consequence of fossil fuels' use in the industry. Temperatures are increasing rapidly especially in Arctic and as a result ice is melting away; the worst scientific predictions estimate that in year 2040 all ice on Arctic will melt away unless some ecological miracle happens. This great ice bar totally depends upon the Arctic sea ice because only these conditions can enable successful hunting and surviving and therefore can't survive loss of the ice that will undoubtedly happen if this emission of greenhouse gases continues. They're already some negative consequences noticed by scientists: thinner bears, decreased reproduction rate and reduced juvenile survival.

Significantly perhaps, on the same day as Kyoto protocol entered into force on the February 16, 2005 (with exception of USA), the Center for Biological Diversity filed a long awaited scientific petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act and since there was no reply from Bush administration they sued Bush administration on December 15, 2005 for ignoring this petition. Success didn't come right away but still came on December 27, 2006 when administration announced a proposed rule to list the polar bear as endangered species. Final listing administration must be done until the January 9, 2008 and we're hoping that this will indeed be the date that will mark polar bears as endangered species because they're really are endangered.

Once declared endangered species polar bears will have at least some chance of surviving and this could also mean change of US environmental policy because their salvation means reducing emission of fossil fuels and to stop relying on fossil fuels. However relying on fossil fuels is very long American tradition so this won't be an easy step to made. We can only hope that this step will be directed in the right way because global warming isn't only great threat to polar bears but also a great threat to the humanity as well. Climate changes have become more than obvious and are causing severe problems in almost all corners of the world and something must be done to stop this. In other words we could easily say that salvation of polar bears could be the first major step to this planet’s salvation. Well let us at least hope it is.

Global warming as a direct consequence of greenhouse gases emission has taken heavy toll on polar bears since Arctic ice is melting and therefore creating unsuitable habitat for polar bears. This big ice bear is one step away from extinction but US government is still failing in proclaiming polar bears as endangered animals which they sadly and truly are.