| The Arctic and the Antarctic regions play very | | | | National Resources Defense Council or NRDC, and |
| important roles. How? First, like the human eyes, they | | | | Greenpeace. For years, these three have been urging |
| are the mirrors to the soul; they are the first to | | | | the US government precisely to act on the problem. It |
| manifest adverse effects like global warming. We | | | | could be victory for the group, but not much since it |
| witness these changes rather most drastically in these | | | | has taken the concerned authorities this long ; it will |
| polar regions. Another correspondingly direct effect of | | | | now take painstaking effort to save the polar bears |
| global warming is: any change in the polar conditions | | | | from extinction. An NRDC executive strongly referred |
| affects those of all the other regions. Once the polar | | | | to global warming as the one major threat to the |
| ice melts, this flushes more freshwater from the | | | | survival of the polar bears. He urged further to stop |
| region's rivers, consequently holding the ocean from | | | | delaying the action and to go full-force; no more |
| circulating fast enough, thereby causing higher sea | | | | half-measures. |
| levels. With more ice melting, more land and bodies of | | | | Enlisting the species as endangered is not even the |
| liquid water are exposed to the heat of the sun. These | | | | culmination of the unified effort; it is only the initial part |
| two, which naturally absorb more heat than snow and | | | | of a long process. It should take the US Fish and |
| ice, causes more warming oceans and land masses. | | | | Wildlife Service around one year to study the proposal |
| Worst of all is borne by the Arctic's perennially frozen | | | | before they decide on an action to take. Meantime, |
| soil - melting of the polar ice releases the greenhouse | | | | there is imminent danger that the polar bear would |
| gases (carbon and methane) trapped within. This is | | | | totally lose its sea-ice habitat as this one year rolls by. |
| very dangerous as the Arctic permafrost contains a | | | | Loss of sea ice also means loss of their main source |
| third of the planet's total soil carbon content. Man-made | | | | of food which are ice seals. This could also result to |
| emissions would fade in comparison is all this carbon | | | | more mortality as the bears would tend to cannibalize |
| were released. The National Center for Atmospheric | | | | their ranks in the absence of prey. Why? Mainly |
| Research has also predicted that the Arctic could be | | | | because enlisting a species as endangered does not |
| ice-free starting 2040 and sea ice reduced by 80% in | | | | necessarily mean ready plans would immediately be |
| the next couple of decades. | | | | implemented. Steps would involve a stoppage on all |
| Warming of the Arctic has already been felt and is | | | | activities that threaten the bears survival, before |
| now a cause for apprehension. According to the Polar | | | | developing and implementing of a recovery plan are |
| Bear Specialist Group (the absolute scientific authority | | | | put to order by the Fish and Wildlife Service. Faced |
| on everything involving polar bears) several (5) of their | | | | with the rate greenhouse gases are being emitted |
| populations in the world are now stamped as declining. | | | | from the Arctic, this will indeed be a daunting task. |
| Just recently, the US. Fish and Wildlife Service (USF & | | | | Talking about populations, it is not just that of the polar |
| WS) announced that the polar bears who once | | | | bears which lie victim to global warming. The Inuits, (a |
| roamed the territory freely may soon be classified | | | | member of the Eskimo peoples living in northernmost |
| under the list of endangered species. The agency has, | | | | North America down to eastern Canada and |
| in fact, done the initial steps already formally proposing | | | | Greenland) depend on the sea ice for food. The dismal |
| to do such that, include the polar bears in the critical | | | | and continued shortening of their hunting season by |
| registry. This alarming announcement has, in effect, | | | | 50% has had drastic effects on their lives. Will it not be |
| granted the request (later escalating to a demand by | | | | long till a people and an era vanished from the face of |
| way of a lawsuit against the USF & WS) of 3 | | | | the earth? Can we do something about it? |
| organizations (the Center for Biological Diversity, the | | | | |