Global warming is actively taking its toll on the polar
regions of the world. Summers have become increasingly hotter and ice is
beginning to melt earlier and produce later. Polar Bears are directly affected
by this situation, as their hunting season is noticeably shortened. Greenhouse
gases that protect our world like a blanket have increased over the last 200
years (Polar Bears International 2014).
(Sam Faulker’s Blog 2014)
Because of the burning of fossil fuels like oil and coal, a basic second shroud of gases has covered the Earth, increasing the temperature. Sea ice losses in 2012 have broken all previous records due to the fact that people are not doing enough to reverse the effects of climate change. Humans have harmed the Earth so much that it would take roughly 30-40 years to reverse the damages that they have caused. If humans do not get their act together, the world will see a mostly ice-free Arctic summer as soon as 2040. Without ice, polar bears are unable to hunt. This is seen especially in the Western Hudson Bay region where because of the shortage of ice, populations of polar bears have decreased by 22% since the 1980’s (Polar Bears International 2014). The decrease of ice is leading polar bears to change their diet. Their diet is not what it used to be 40 years ago.
(Wired 2009)
Today, polar bears are increasingly modifying their diet to prey on caribou and snow geese, as well as their eggs (Ecology and Evolution. 2013). The vegetation and berries consumed by polar bears shows little movement among habitat types between feeding seasons, clarifying the fact that polar bears are trying to conserve as much energy with possible with the amount of ice decreasing (BMC Ecology 2013). Through man-made climate change, humans are putting both polar bears and themselves at risk. Because climate change is a human caused issue, humans must be the ones to take the initiative to fix it.
Because of the burning of fossil fuels like oil and coal, a basic second shroud of gases has covered the Earth, increasing the temperature. Sea ice losses in 2012 have broken all previous records due to the fact that people are not doing enough to reverse the effects of climate change. Humans have harmed the Earth so much that it would take roughly 30-40 years to reverse the damages that they have caused. If humans do not get their act together, the world will see a mostly ice-free Arctic summer as soon as 2040. Without ice, polar bears are unable to hunt. This is seen especially in the Western Hudson Bay region where because of the shortage of ice, populations of polar bears have decreased by 22% since the 1980’s (Polar Bears International 2014). The decrease of ice is leading polar bears to change their diet. Their diet is not what it used to be 40 years ago.
Today, polar bears are increasingly modifying their diet to prey on caribou and snow geese, as well as their eggs (Ecology and Evolution. 2013). The vegetation and berries consumed by polar bears shows little movement among habitat types between feeding seasons, clarifying the fact that polar bears are trying to conserve as much energy with possible with the amount of ice decreasing (BMC Ecology 2013). Through man-made climate change, humans are putting both polar bears and themselves at risk. Because climate change is a human caused issue, humans must be the ones to take the initiative to fix it.
Works Cited:
Arctic
Report Card: Update for 2013. (2013) Sea Ice Extent. Arctic Report Card. (Date
Accessed: February 23, 2014.) http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcard/sea_ice.html
Climate Change. Polar Bears International. (Date Accessed: February 13, 2014)
http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/about-polar-bears/essentials/climate-change
http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/about-polar-bears/essentials/climate-change
Global Warming. Polar Bears International. Date Accessed: February 14, 2014)
http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/about-polar-bears/global-warming
http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/about-polar-bears/global-warming
Gormezano, Linda J. Rockwell, Robert F. Ecology
and Evolution. (Date Accessed: February 14, 2013) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3797495/
Gormezano, Linda J. Rockwell, Robert F. BMC
Ecology. (Date Accessed: February 14, 2013)
Sam
Faulker’s Blog. (2014) Climate will continue to change unless we reduce our
emissions. Sam Faulkner’s blog. (Date Accessed: February 23, 2014.) http://samtfaulkner.blogspot.com/
Wired. (2009) Hunting Arctic Asteriod with
Hovercraft. (Date Accessed: February 14, 2014.) http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/10/arctichovercraft/
This is an excellent post I seen thanks to share it. It is really what I wanted to see hope in future you will continue for sharing such a excellent post. infrared heating pad for back pain
ReplyDelete