Most Polar Bears Could Be Gone by 2050

[RestoreGore]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070907/sc_nm/climate_polarbears_dc

Most polar bears could be gone by 2050

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two-thirds of the world's current polar bear population could be gone by midcentury if predictions of melting sea ice hold true, the U.S. Geological Survey reported on Friday.

The fate of polar bears might be even more imperiled than that estimate, because sea ice in the Arctic might be vanishing faster than the available computer models predict, the geological survey said in a report aimed at determining whether the arctic bear should be classified as a threatened species.

"Projected changes in future sea ice conditions, if realized, will result in loss of approximately two-thirds of the world's current polar bear population by the mid 21st century," the report's executive summary said.

"Because the observed trajectory of Arctic sea ice decline appears to be underestimated by currently available models, this assessment of future polar bear status may be conservative."

In January, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, noting polar bears depended on sea ice as a platform to hunt seals. Projected sea ice loss due to global climate change was believed to jeopardize the bears' range.

Also see:

http://www.climate.org/topics/climate/polarbears.shtml



Will the polar bear be placed on the endangered species list, however? Watch how this is handled , because I believe this regime will do all in its power to keep that from happening, because by doing so they will then have no excuse for their FAILURE regarding addressing it properly. And another species sinks into near extinction while we continue to "debate" whether global warning is even real while flat earthers continue their nothing to see here just move along attitude.

I think to state that humanity has lost its true moral core would not be an understatement.

[Eurobabe]

1. With the present fucknuts in charge WE'LL ALL be gone

by 2050.

[Auggie]

2. I'm sure it's the #1 topic of conversation in corporate board rooms across the U.S.

:sarcasm:

[RestoreGore]

15. It is in some

But not enough...yet.

[Annces]

3. Thanks for posting n/t

[RestoreGore]

16. You're welcome n/t

[leftchick]

4. fuck!

:cry:

[Rydz777]

5. The bees and the frogs will be gone before that, but we

can always import plastic ones from China.

[RestoreGore]

10. That's why action is needed enmasse by individuals all the way up to governments now

Only it seems that even getting countries to come together to sign onto one climate treaty that will work to reduce CO2 by 80% within that time frame is a chore necause they are all looking for how best it can profit them. Although there are some glimmers of hope in that many more companies and governments are awakening to their moral duty to this planet, it is obvious that we truly have entered a period of consequences. And even though this is truly sad, I still try to have hope that we can avert the absolute worst effects if we start now...But the questions remain, will it be enough and do we have enough time? We have wasted so much already on our distracions while bees, frogs, birds, polar bears and so many other species are now imperiled... is man next?

[RestoreGore]

6. Discover Magazine: Arctic Land Grab Could Cause Eco-Disaster

http://discovermagazine.com/2007/aug/arctic-land-grabs-could-cause-eco-disaster/article_view?b_start:int=0&-C=

And ships won't be entering the Arctic just for quick transits through the Northwest Passage. The number one draw to an ice-diminished Arctic is the cache of natural resources like oil and natural gas that are thought to be buried under the ocean floor. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Arctic contains up to a quarter of the world's undiscovered oil and natural gas. Once covered by thick sea ice, these treasures could soon become accessible, and Arctic nations like the U.S., Russia, and Denmark want the profits.

Environmental groups are not happy about the prospect of increased shipping in the Arctic. Many worry that expanding traffic over the next few years is all too likely to cause an environmentally disastrous accident because the ice won't be completely cleared for decades—it will have cleared just enough that inexperienced mariners will recklessly try to push through. "Freighters of all sorts will be coming through to save some cost on fuel," says Joseph Handley, premier of Canada's Northwest Territories, which border the Arctic Ocean. "They’ll come through and there will be accidents."

If the worst case does come to pass and there's a large oil or chemical spill in the Arctic, its consequences could be worse than in other areas. The evaporation process is much slower in high latitudes because the water is so cold; breaking down spilled oil would take many decades, says Peter Ewins, director of species conservation for World Wildlife Fund-Canada. In addition, the region is so far removed from population and maritime centers that getting cleanup supplies to a spill site would be much harder, if not impossible. After the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, the U.S. Coast Guard was near enough that a cleanup effort could start immediately. But if a colossal spill like the Valdez happened much farther north, it could devastate the area. "If you had to clean up a spill in the high Arctic, I don’t know how you’d do it," Handley says.

end of excerpt.

Of course governments don't care about the moral implications of the Arctic melt besides the damage it will do to the balance of our climate, they just want to grab anything that is under the ice that melts, the world be damned. Is there no place on this planet that humans won't screw up?

[Annces]

9. Some posted this before and I thought it was profound

The sun, the moon and the stars would have disappeared long ago... had they happened to be within the reach of predatory human hands. ~Havelock Ellis, The Dance of Life, 1923

[RestoreGore]

13. I know that phrase and it is so true

and now those predatory human hands must be responsible for saving that which we are destroying. So for us to not do that with what we now hnow is surely just as immoral. And give them time. I'm sure if need be they will find a way to loot the solar system as well. There is no limit to their greed.

[MoonRiver]

7. I'd be surprised if there were any left by then.

:cry:

[RestoreGore]

18. True. This may be an optimistic estimate

[nam78_two]

8. Very sad-K&R.nt

[Hydra]

11. The Polar bears will adapt

but it would be a shame to make them...I wonder if they will still be white if they have to hunt on land.

The real tragedy was mentioned a few posts above- if we start tearing the arctic up for resources, that will be yet more habitat lost to greed.

[Annces]

12. They cannot adapt

They need ice to hunt seal and they need cold weather. They die of heat exhaustion if it is too warm.

http://www.ecoenquirer.com/polar-bear-heat.htm

[Hydra]

17. Read wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bears

They are omnivores- read "opportunists." The temp. tolerance and lack of speed is a problem, but if you can't adapt, you die. That's one of the unbreakable laws of nature.

Many will die- maybe most. Bear attacks on humans will soar. I give them good odds on winning in the end, though. They survived our tender mercies once.

[Annces]

33. Wiki also says they cannot survive without ice and seals

From your link-

"Their range is limited by the availability of that sea ice they use as a platform for hunting seals, the mainstay of their diet. The destruction of its habitat on the Arctic ice threatens the bear's survival as a species."


"Still, reindeer and musk oxen can easily outrun a polar bear, and polar bears overheat quickly: thus the polar bear subsists almost entirely on live seals and walrus calves, or on the carcasses of dead adult walruses or whales."

[RestoreGore]

14. They shouldn't have to even if they could

I am heartbroken and angry this is happening because humans are still pumping 70 million tons of Co2 into the atmosphere every day even though we know what it is doing to our planet and other species. I simply cannot fathom that. And those species that have no culpability in this do not deserve to be driven to extinction for our moral recklessness. This is what Sheila Watt-Cloutier (who is nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize along with Al Gore) has been fighting for for so long. The rights of the Innuit people and also the animals who have no voice because in reality what is happening to them is an animal rights abuse. I do believe this is also a human rights issue as well.

[Hydra]

19. This is the central issue

Does might really make right?

The answer to that question will determine who and what survives, soon.

[RestoreGore]

20. yes, and I am afraid that answer will come at a great price to us

Along with shrinking ice we will have a shrinking global water supply with an expanding population polluting and wasting as governments and corporations seek to profit from it. What will be the straw that breaks the camel's back so to speak? That is what I wonder. What truly has to happen before people enmasse see the urgency of what we face? Hurricane Katrina didn't do it. So would a catastrophe even worse than that have to hit us first? That is the one aspect of human nature that intrigues and at the same time frustrates me so much. We await until the bottom drops out before saying something needs to be done, and by then it is too late to do anything.

[Hydra]

21. Don't worry about it so much

the problem is easily fixable.

Do we want to fix it? How badly do we want to fix it? Are we willing to do what it takes to remove the people causing the problems?

That's the real issue.

Clean water? Efficient desalination(good incentive not to pollute our oceans, as well)

Melting ice? No more oil or other fossil fuels

Population control? Offer family planning and shut up the religions that say "no birth control"

The solutions are easy.

[RestoreGore]

22. Solutions are easy... Implementing them is the hard part

Hopefully we will be able to mitigate a great amount of damage as wo do have what we need save the will to do it. It isn't so much worry on my part as it is feeling like I want to scream wake up at people.

[Hydra]

23. They don't think what's going on is a problem

and until they figure it out, we are the doomsayers.

Here is an issue for you though? What are YOU willing to do? How important is this to YOU?

For me, it is enough to know that we can fix it. I'm perfectly happy if humanity is intent on destroying themselves, though. Are you ok with taking a sidelines stance?

[RestoreGore]

25. No, and I haven't

There isn't a day that goes by with this being out of my consciousness and a part of what I do. And I do not believe we can afford to be on the sidelines any longer. I am part of the part of humanity that is intent on saving itself.

[tabasco]

26. Like the mammoths?

You're in lala land.

[Hydra]

27. Buy into the hype, if you want

Animals can and do adapt, even to us. I've heard elephant attacks are up in the last few years- I think they figured out we are the enemy.

Since polar bears aren't afraid of us, expect something similar.

[RestoreGore]

31. I don't think this is hype

It is happening and while of course the instinct for them will be to look for food as the video I posted showed, it also showed that because of their lack of body fat due to starving, they will not be able to reproduce and will eventually starve to death. The warmer climates and lack of sea ice will not be a friend to the polar bear. It will be the same instinct that takes over the millions who will find themselves without food and water if we continue our rapacious ways of living in this world, chiefly here where it seems that unless the tragedy hits our door step there is no real urgency paid to it. We have to stop pumping so much CO2 into our atmosphere because it is not only affecting polar bears in that area, but other animals as well including us.

[RestoreGore]

24. Video: On Thin Ice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpmnsPSdDoY

:cry:

[nam78_two]

28. Sad :-/.nt

[RestoreGore]

29. Yes, it is

And when I think that Al Gore called Roger Revelle to testify on the Hill over THIRTY years ago about this to no avail, and then proceeded to continue to warn them about if for all of the years he served in that beltway I am even more grateful for his work out here now. Politicians are definitely to blame as well for how far this has now gone.

[RestoreGore]

30. WWF Canon Polar Bear Tracker

http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/europe/what_we_do/arctic/polar_bear/index.cfm

This is a very informative site regarding polar bears and tracking them to gauge how their environment is affecting their lives.

[RestoreGore]

32. Arctic Sea Ice Retreating 30 Years Ahead Of Projections

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/apr2007/2007-04-30-04.asp

And I believe it is already impacting weather patterns in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The polar bears are just (pardon the pun) the tip of the iceberg here. Once they are gone should it come to that, we will not be far behind if we don't collectively get our act together. This is then not just sad, it is a warning sign to us that that what we do to them we do to ourselves. But there are solutions out there if we embrace them and dedicate ourselves to implementing them from what we do in our own lives to what we demand from business and government. I doubt very much that the proper change will happen in time if it does not come from us first.

[gordianot]

34. Humans give themselves too much credit.

We are also animals and evolution, the planet has not made the final decision regarding us. Give human behavior as a group, human extinction is probably not out of the question. As a species we do an excellent job of thinning out our own population. All the rest of the planetary residents need to do is wait us out. If life can survive a 30 mile asteroid impact, it should survive human corporatist, communist, fascist, Republicans, consumer society and the plethora of human polluters. Who knows a modified and wiser human may even survive.