It’s official. The U.S. Secretary of the Interior has placed the polar bear on the list of threatened species list under the Endangered Species Act. Apparently, global warming (as previously discovered by Al Gore) has created a massive loss of sea ice, which has and will continue to threaten current polar bear habitat. This loss of habitat puts polar bears at risk of becoming endangered in the foreseeable future. Research shows sea ice has been on a steady decline since 1979 based on satellite imagery. Last year, Arctic sea ice fell to the lowest level ever recorded by satellite, 39 percent below the long-term average from 1979 to 2000.
So what can we do to save polar bear habitat? The U.S. Fish and Wildlife organization suggests the following:
- Enact legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. Reduce personal energy use and ask for legislative action on global warming at the federal, state and local levels. Enact policies that reduce U.S. global warming pollution 2% per year, leading to about an 80% reduction by mid-century.
- Protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on the Arctic coastal plain from becoming an oil field used to satiate America’s demand for oil and gas. The Refuge has a concentration of on-shore denning used by polar bears.
- Take the Good Neighbor pledge today! Do your part to help reduce global warming and help cool the planet one home at a time.
Alternatively, we could air lift in food to the polar bears, providing them with adequate meals to carry them through their hunting seasons. We do airlifts for all other parts of the world that are starving, why not the Arctic living polar bears?
In related news, Coca Cola has determined it will replace the polar bear with a new mascot, the common house cat, as these mammals are so plentiful they’ll never become threatened or endangered. Smart move Coke!
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Land of 10,000 Perspectives 
Have you ever seen the polar bears at Como Zoo? I do have a heart, but I rarely take time to feel sorry for animals. But those polar bears at that zoo are the most sad looking creatures ever.
Also, if we airlift food, we would be using fuel. It’s a lose lose ;)
This is tragic, especially knowing that polar bears can not swim.
Wait, if polar bears cannot swim then why are they always diving in the water, and how do they get from one iceberg to another when separated by water?
I’ve seen them underwater at the zoo, seems they swim rather well.
I love Polar Bears, they are right up there with the Panda in cuteness. It’s too bad global warming is killing them off.
Just FYI, I think Greg was being a bit sarcastic with his note about polar bears not being able to swim. According to the Polar Bear Specialist Group (http://pbsg.npolar.no/pb_faq.htm#swim)
Polar bears can swim steadily for many hours in order to get from one piece of ice to another. They have water-repellent coat and partially webbed feet, which both are adaptations to swimming. Although known individual bears have only been recorded swimming about 100 km or so, they are likely capable of swimming much further if necessary. However, this kind of effort is very expensive in terms of energy, so swimming such long distances is likely not done frequently. The longest a polar bear in the wild has been timed holding its breath while diving is 72 seconds.
Yes, I was just joking. Sorry.