homepage - programs - chill the drills - climate change and the great polar bear
Chill the Drills! Protect America's Arctic
Climate Change and the Great Polar Bear
Government scientists say polar bears are imperiled because of a warming arctic climate. Studies have documented plunging survival rates for cubs, falling body weights for adults, strandings on land for bears that are used to hunting for prey on vast expanses of ice, and even drowning cases. A recent U.S. Geological Survey report indicates that both of America's polar bear populations could disappear by 2050.
In fact, global warming now poses such a threat to the polar bear's survival that the bear was recently listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. This listing is the first Endangered Species Act initiative taken by the U.S. government on behalf of an animal because of global warming.
The scientific evidence of the threats to the polar bear are overwhelming and a vast majority of scientists and the American public agree that the polar bear needs to be protected.
Polar Bears live much of their life on sea ice, which is fundamental for their survival. Global warming is melting Arctic sea ice at an alarming rate. In 2007 roughly 1 million more square miles of ice melted than in a normal year — an area roughly three times the size of Texas.
In two of the three years since we have seen similar loss. If this trend continues, it could decimate polar bear populations.