Stoked on Polar Bears? Then Help Save Them!

By Andrew Kruger on November 15, 2012

I think we can all agree polar bears are pretty awesome, majestic animals. I have never seen one in person, and neither have most people, but those who have are very lucky. In the coming years, these creatures may be rendered extinct by the vast loss of polar ice that has spiked over the recent summers.

It is a fact that every summer season in the Arctic, a large amount of ice melts. This is a natural yearly cycle, and it has been occurring with the annual rising of atmospheric and ocean temperatures in the northern reaches of the planet for thousands of years. However, as our presence on earth has rapidly increased over the recent centuries, we have consumed vast amounts of energy and released an immense amount of greenhouse gases. As these gases slowly accumulate in the atmosphere, they reflect and insulate larger and larger amounts of solar radiation inwards toward low altitudes every year. This process has disrupted the natural thawing and refreezing process of the northern oceans of earth, allowing far more ice to melt as temperatures increase above safe levels. This summer saw the greatest loss of sea ice in recorded history, with only 24% of the entire Arctic Ocean sustaining ice through the season.

The polar bear is a very versatile creature, able to dive under water to catch fish, and even able to swim upwards of 30 miles. But with the polar bear’s habitat melting around it, the closest stable ice pack may be hundreds of miles away. This has led to speculation that many Polar Bears and the cubs riding on their backs have drowned swimming aimlessly in the open Arctic Ocean, but the exact number cannot be calculated. And as our consumption of energy and our world population exponentially climbs, we are only melting more and more ice each year.

While you may believe that you cannot help the polar bear, there is a way you can. No, I am not asking you to change your ways of life and buy an electric car or switch to solar power for your home. I am just asking you that you do something every day that lessens your impact on the atmosphere and ecosystem, even if it is just a small effort. You could perhaps walk to the gym instead of drive there. You could drive less aggressively. You could carpool with a few friends somewhere. There are infinite ways to lessen your impact, and they are not too hard to think of. Who knows, through your efforts, you may leave a small patch of ice for a Polar bear and her family to rest on through their wandering journey in the vast Arctic Ocean.

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