Polar Bears and Arctic Ice
A news item caught my eye today: NOAA research affirms predictions of sea ice loss
Basically, by 2050, the average amount of arctic ice - which polar bears need for hunting seals - will be diminished. According to the article, arctic ice will recede 300-500 miles from Alaska's north coast each summer. In the 1980s, ice averaged just 30-50 miles distance from the coast. If you were driving that distance, just think of it as taking you 10 times longer to get there. And then remember that polar bears don't have cars.
Polar bears hunt off the coast of Alaska in an area known as the continental shelf. The shelf is an area that is nearest to the land and is also relatively shallow compared to the actual ocean. This relatively shallow area is more "productive" biologically -- there is a greater diversity of life to be found there.
According to the Strategic Plan of Alaska's Sea Grant, Alaska's continental shelf supports the richest diversity of marine mammals in the Northern Hemisphere, and almost half of the nation's fishery volume.
While the exact impact of the receding arctic ice will only be known once it actually occurs, it is likely that the loss of ice will further compromise the hunting habitat of the polar bears. We already know that they are having a harder time because of present-day ice loss.
My question is: why would we want to help move the planet in that direction? The direction where polar bears only exist in zoos because their natural habitat has been destroyed?
Basically, by 2050, the average amount of arctic ice - which polar bears need for hunting seals - will be diminished. According to the article, arctic ice will recede 300-500 miles from Alaska's north coast each summer. In the 1980s, ice averaged just 30-50 miles distance from the coast. If you were driving that distance, just think of it as taking you 10 times longer to get there. And then remember that polar bears don't have cars.
Polar bears hunt off the coast of Alaska in an area known as the continental shelf. The shelf is an area that is nearest to the land and is also relatively shallow compared to the actual ocean. This relatively shallow area is more "productive" biologically -- there is a greater diversity of life to be found there.
According to the Strategic Plan of Alaska's Sea Grant, Alaska's continental shelf supports the richest diversity of marine mammals in the Northern Hemisphere, and almost half of the nation's fishery volume.
While the exact impact of the receding arctic ice will only be known once it actually occurs, it is likely that the loss of ice will further compromise the hunting habitat of the polar bears. We already know that they are having a harder time because of present-day ice loss.
My question is: why would we want to help move the planet in that direction? The direction where polar bears only exist in zoos because their natural habitat has been destroyed?
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