I chose a different headline than all other mainstream media to present information released from the Department of the Interior about the prospects of placing the polar bear under protection of the Endangered Species Act. Global warming advocates got half what they wanted from the feds yesterday when the DOI announced that if further reductions in arctic ice occur, this will result in a reduction also of the polar bear. The other half may come if the bear is placed on the Endangered list.
All other media outlets opted to headline their stories with things like, “Global Warming will Wipe Out Polar Bear”, “USGS Says Shrinking Ice Cap Killing Polar Bears”, etc. The key to the press release issued by DOI is in the first paragraph.
Future reduction of sea ice in the Arctic could result in a loss of 2/3 of the world’s polar bear population within 50 years according to a series of studies released today by the U.S. Geological Survey.
I don’t know of anyone who would dispute that claim. Sea ice is a necessary part of the survival of the polar bear. They need it in order to reach seal hunting grounds, their main source of food. The questions become, will the ice continue to shrink enough to threaten the survival of the bear and if so how long will the shrinking continue? And is the current loss of ice due to normal climate cycles or global warming as defined by those who promote it? It may be centuries before we know.
Scientists hope to answer some of these questions as they continue to further study the situation. A recommendation of what to do with the polar bear will come later this year.
The report also said that the models being used by scientists indicate that over the next half century, ice will continue to shrink.
During a six-month period of intensive analysis of both existing and new data, the team documented the direct relationship between the presence of Arctic sea ice and the survival and health of polar bears. Polar bears depend on sea ice as a platform to hunt seals, their primary food. But sea ice is decreasing throughout their Arctic range due to climate change. Models used by the USGS team project a 42 percent loss of optimal polar bear habitat from the Polar Basin during summer, a vital hunting and breeding period, by mid-century.
If you are interested in reading all the reports put together by the USGS, follow this link.
Tom Remington
