http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6213179.stm http://www.fws.gov/home/feature/2006/12-27...larbearnews.pdf I heard about this on NPR the other day. It's the first time the government is acknowledging a consequence of GW. The link states a proposed 12 month review period in order to determine if the bears should be listed. Polar Bears are drowning due to the melting ice sheets in their habitat. I'm not sure how their decline can be prevented, other than curbing the effects of GW. This is all too little, too late. Addtionally, once listed, how are we to prevent more drownings? Are we to construct floating man made objects? I think they're doomed. On the upside, I'm happy to see our government finally recognizing that GW may be a concern in at least one way.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SSimon @ Dec 29 2006, 12:34 PM) [snapback]368244[/snapback]</div> This is so sad. Such beautiful creatures perishing because of us. I watched Al Gore's documentary and was taken aback. We are all doomed if we don't stop putting 70 million tons on heat into our atmosphere daily. The Govt. & our car cos. must act now before it's too late.
Quick! Somebody tell the polar bears that global warming is a myth! Maybe that will magically bring back the ice flows...
Well, it looks like they're changing their behavior. "Global warming is likely to blame for pregnant Alaskan polar bears increasingly giving birth on land, according to a U.S. Geological Survey study. Alaska's bear population could be jeopardized if the climate continues to grow warmer. From 1998 to 2004, just 37 percent of the female bears studied made dens on ice -- this is down from 62 percent from 1985 to 1994." Pregnant polar bears giving birth on land.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Jan 28 2007, 06:02 PM) [snapback]382038[/snapback]</div> I'm glad to see this. I'm hoping that they (and their food sources) can adopt a new way towards their survival. I see that public comment is being allowed and reviewed up until April and I'm going to be taking advantage of this. Thanks for posting. I guess that with the probable peril of polar bears, we can also expect declines or extinction of scavenger species (the Artic Fox) and also all of the migratory or domestic wild birds that require either the ice packs or the kills of the polar bears for their survival survive.
The story of drowning polar bears made my teenage daughter and wife cry. Made me more determined to get the point across, with everyone I meet and online. // ya, I shed a tear
