Why We Should Care About The Polar Bears

Welcome to WeCareAboutThePolarBear! This is a blog designed by biology students to educate you on polar bears, their history, their present, their future, and most importantly, why we (and why you) should care about polar bears! Here is a video to get you started.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzD7zzsRw_k

The underlying problem is that polar bears and melting ice simply do not add up. In order to flourish, polar bears need to be able to hunt seals, whale or walruses. However without ice this is simply not possible. Read more

Population of Polar Bears

On average, the population of polar bears are declining. As shown in the graph, the number of subpopulations in decline is increasing. For more information about the population, click here.

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The History Behind The Polar Bears

The North, specifically the Arctic, has been polar bears's home for many years. The Inuit people have lived with them, hunting them occasionally for food or clothing. There was never any fear that the Inuit people would over hunt the polar bears because it was dangerous and the weapons available to them were primitive (Endangered Polar Bear, 2014). However, it wasn't just the Inuit people who hunted our furry friends: several polar bear populations were decimated by unsustainable hunting by European, Russian and American hunters and trappers from the 1600s right through to the mid-1970's (WWF, 2014). Eventually in the 1970s the over hunting was brought under control by the International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears and Their Habitat (Endangered Polar Bear, 2014). Since the 1970s, with the emergence of many factories, buildings, and other infrastructure, global warming has been the leading cause of the ice in the polar bears's home to melt, and causing fewer and fewer polar bears to live. In 1973, Canada, the United States, Denmark, Norway and the former USSR signed the International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears and their Habitat, strictly regulating commercial hunting (WWF, 2014). The US Government classified the Polar Bear under its Endangered Species Act (ESA) (WWF, 2014). Fast forward to today, and polar bears are among the few large carnivores that are still found in (or near) their original habitat.

http://www.andybiggs.com/images/polarbears_3.jpg

References List

• "History of Polar Bears" Endangered Polar Bear. http://www.endangeredpolarbear.com/history-of-polar-bears.html (accessed: February 25th, 2014). 

• "Polar Bear Status, Distribution, & Population". WWF. http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/arctic/wildlife/polar_bear/population/ (accessed: February 25th, 2014). 

General Information about Global Warming

 

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      Global warming is an ongoing phenomenon since 1850 that describes the climate change due to the warming of earth’s surface. Global warming is caused by excessive amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that traps the heat and keeps it from moving out of the earth's surface. This climate change is currently one of the biggest concerns and threats of the world today, and it contributes enormously to the decrease in polar bear population. Human activities are the most responsible for the phenomenon.  Over 200 years, a number of our activities, including fuel emissions, factory emissions, and deforestation, have been drastically increasing the amount of green house gases in the atmosphere. We have emitted greenhouse gases by combusting fossil fuels for energy and transportation, cutting down trees and burning forests to create pastures, driving cars, and using natural gases and oils. (NASA, 2014).  Global warming is responsible for various transformations in the world, including the rise of sea levels, changing landscapes, economic losses, risked wildlife, and heat-related diseases (Nature, 2014). These greenhouse gases such as water vapor, CO₂, methane, and nitrous oxide soak up the outgoing heat and re-emits it on the earth’s surface, increasing the temperature of the surface of the earth (NASA, 2014). This gradual and constant increase in temperature caused by global warming has destroyed the habitats of many species, leading to numerous extinctions and endangerments. If not treated properly, most species on earth, including the polar bears, will be extinct by the year 2050 (Nature, 2014). However, though human activities are the number-one cause of global warming, it is unimaginable for people to abruptly cut down all activities that affect global warming at this state. These activities such as combusting fossil fuels and running factories are essential for sustaining human activities. Industries need to constantly emit green house gases in order to maintain factories, and we need fossil fuels for continuous supply of energy. Cutting down our daily use of  resources and energy will bring an abrupt halt to all human activities.  

http://www.greenscroll.org/images/global-warming.jpg

Reference List

• NASA.A Blanket around the Earth. Global Climate Change. (Date accessed: 02, 11, 2014.)http://climate.nasa.gov/causes

• SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. Polar Bears. Longevity & Causes of Death. (Date accessed: 02, 13, 2014.) http://seaworld.org/animalinfo/animal-info/animal-infobooks/polar-bears/longevity-and-causes-of-death/