Polar Bears Warming Up to Climate Change Essay

The way the balls climate has been changing is a precise hot egress among scientists today. Some believe it to be caused by the hides inherent geothermal development and part of the normal change that the planet should be undergoing. Others contradict these claims by saying that adult manlys own inventions and un decent use of fossil fuels has been aggravating the inwrought thermal changes. Environmentalists further influence the general public to act towards helping preserve earth because mans activities argon not just diminish human extract further of his co-planetary habitants as well. north- frosty Bears Hierarchy in the north- icy ground north- pivotal bears ar realizen to be the worlds largest footing predator. (Briggs, 2003, par. 9) Adult egg-producing(prenominal)s normally weigh 330 to 550 pounds plainly males base be as heavy as 775 to 1500 pounds. ( diametrical Bears International, 2008, par. 4) frosty bears, as can be shown in the Food Chain Model b elow, argon on top of the sustenance chain in the arctic regions and feed on ringed seals and walruses. paired BearBeluga Ringed Seal Thick-Billed Murres WalrusBowheaded Whale prophylactic Cod Arctic TernZooplanktonSource appellative DiscoverySchool Lesson Plan, p. 3Phytoplankton Although military man clear taken it upon themselves to cargon for their environment, sharing province is not always easy. There used to be concerns between Norway and Russia, as to who should be responsible for the care of the Ursus maritimus or diametric bear since they can be found in both countries. A study make by Mette Mauritzen (2002) and her colleagues used beam telemetry to obtain data from 105 female polar bears over a dozen of years and the results showed that the different sub universe of discourses in the different locations are all part of one continuous polar bear tribe. This means that both countries need to share management responsibility for the species. global melt and the Ar ctic Many scientists are saying that the menstruum state of international warm is overly fast. Some say that it allow for only take around 50 years before the applesauce in the Arctic go away melt trance others say it whitethorn take around light speed years. The length of time is ir applic able because the indispens fitness of combating world(prenominal) warming can truly be seen with its predicted and already on-going effects. harmonize to NASA Engineer Josefino C. Comiso (2003), his satellite observations show that the twenty year reduce in situ surface temperature is eight times larger than the 100 year ab liberatege which means that the sea is warming overmuch faster than normal. He too presumes that by the year 2050, the trumpery lying over the continental shelf would be dis beatd into the polar basin.Polar Bears and Global Warming According to an clause written by Eric Chivian (2001) entitled Environment and health Species loss and ecosystem fluster the implications for human health, global climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, and the negative results of other man-make activities stake biodiversity, notwithstanding it is the degradation, reduction and fragmentation of habitats that is the greatest threat. According to a very extensive study made by Andrew Derocher, Nicholas Lunn and Ian Stirling (2004) entitled Polar Bears in a Warming Climate, factors such as the decreasing area of Arctic Sea Ice, lessened multiyear icing the puck, timing of ice formation or break-up, denning, movements of the bears on the sea ice, quantity of prey, human-polar bear interactions and pollution all combine to ex confront the survival of the species.Arctic Sea Ice According to the IUCN/ Species Survival armorial bearing Polar Bear Specialist Group (2002, pp. 21-35), polar bears apply been able to occupy sea ice habitats throughout the Arctic with its population estimated at 21,500 to 25,000. Arctic Sea Ice are used by polar bears t o transport themselves over the water to prey on seals. Lessening the corking turn of arctic ice would greatly propel the victuals resource of the species. come Multiyear Ice According to a previous report by Comiso (2002b cited in Derocher, 2004) the ice cover in the Arctic is already declining at the com perplexe of 9% every ten years which means that the ice whitethorn be all gone in just one cardinal years. Since polar bears are fully dependent on their icy habitat, losing the ice can lead to their extinction.Timing of Ice Formation and its Break Up One of the basic things that will be affected by global warming would be the cycle of break-up and freezing of the annual ice in the arctic. Some scientists believe that global warming affects the cycle by do the ice break up in the first place annually while delaying its freeze.In Canadas Western Hudson Bay, the annual ice break-up is observe to be occurring approximately 2.5 weeks earlier than 3 decades ago. (Stirling, e t.al. cited in Derocher, 2004) This is important because when the ice breaks sooner, the polar bears have shortened time to feed on seals which can greatly affect the conditions of their bodies throughout the year. Their bodies would not have been able to get enough of the prolific they would need for their four-month fast. According to other studies previously done by Derocher and Stirling (1995b cited in Derocher, 2004), adult polar bears lose around .85 to .90 kilograms of body mass casual during fasts. With the abrupt breaking of ice that would end feeding period earlier and the delayed freezing, polar bears will lose their weight abnormally referable to the longer time they need to fast.Although it may seem trivial, this has a remarkable effect on the pregnant polar bears. If these female pregnant polar bears fall beyond 189 kilograms of weight due to the long fasting period, chances of delivering the rookie become nil.Denning Female polar bears have favorite places to den. To reach these places, the ice cycles should be regular to be able to help these bears reach their destinations on time. Also, with the ice melting and making the area farther to swim to, it is becoming difficult for polar bears to reach their favorite locations. There are few subspecies that do may not be particular with their den locations because they are able to den on aimless multiyear ice. These polar bears are currently able to raise the cubs well. However, with global warming affecting the multiyear ice, these bears may have to be on the floating ice longer than needful which means more than zip fastener wasted. This can likewise be prejudicial to the cubs which are not heretofore fully developed and equipped to give-up the ghost the weary conditions. If this happens, then global warming will affect the population because of the cubs that can be lost due to the conditions mentioned. For polar bear populations that select to go back to their maternity dens, anothe r problem that could threaten their natural activity would be that while the planet warms, the flora and fauna in the area would also be drier making these prone to fire. warm dens with fire-risks are not suitable for pregnant polar bears and their cubs.Movements of Polar Bears on the Sea Ice Because of warmer sea temperatures and an amplification in sea winds due to global warming, sea ice will thin slow and this may cause this major transportation for polar bears to become cranky or drift faster. If it moves much faster, the species would need to spend more energy in reaching their preferred locations. Although polar bears love to swim, using too much energy can also cause poor health and reproduction for the polar bears. Observations also note that polar bears move to bring in when sea ice quantity goes below half of its normal number. This could be because more energy is spent moving on top of drifting ice compared to walking on solid icy ground. A decrease in the number o f sea ice drifting also lessens the opportunities to race for more prey.Availability of Prey A decrease in sea ice has its effects on the productivity of seals, which are the main nourishment of polar bears. Seals rely on sea ice for their maternity activities, lessening the quantity of sea ice drifting due to global warming will also lessen the population of seals. There were observations in 1979 that warmer temperatures and rain down resulted to the easy uncovering of seal pup l picnics that made it thrice easier for polar bears to catch them. (Hammil and Smith, 1991 cited in Derocher, 2004) If this can become a trend wherein in warmer temperatures will cause the earlier onset of rain which will wash away the protection of seal pups, then, it is also viable that the population of ringed seals will decline as newborns are prone less chances of survival. Polar bears rely on sea ice to be able to catch seals. Lessening the number of sea ice would also decrease its opportunities to catch the prey. Very few polar bears have been observed to have enough ability to catch its prey in cave in waters. The species may have more luck in getting their food when walrus or seals are hauled out on terrestrial habitats but only few individuals of the species are known to have this ability. Another vista that needs to be discussed is the way the polar bears eat their prey. The adult male polar bears prefer the blubber of their prey and usually leave much of the protein behind (Stirling and McEwan, 1975 cited in Derocher, 2004) for younger polar bears who are not yet good in catching prey. With global warming altering the food sources and the way polar bears spend their energy, there will likely be less left-over food for the younger generations of cubs to eat which can decrease the population size.Human Bear Interactions So far, human and polar bear interactions have been relatively few because of the difference of habitat these species share. However, if global warmin g will cause the ice to melt and lessen the current quantity of food, the bears may have to wander nearer human dwellings for their own chances of survival. However, this can be fatal for both species because humans may have to get rid of the polar bear for protection or else the bear will treat the human its prey. More human interaction will also increase the polar bears exposure to pollutants which can affect its population.Remediation Program Polar bears have been under the protection of the different regimes their habitats are found. There are already laws in place to ban hunting except for scientific purposes and changes in marine transportation routes to lessen the pollution that can scupper the species. However, global warming is still an snub that can be split up addressed by the public. Although more and more advocates have been trying their scoop to cause enough awareness about the problem of greenhouse gases, a good remediation program for the polar bears would be d ependent on a good program against global warming. The greenhouse effect of global warming is said to be caused by methane and ampere-second dioxide which form a tier in the atmosphere. This layer keeps the heat organism produced within the earth from going out of the planet under normal atmospheric circumstances. carbon paper dioxide is a natural gas humans and animals excrete when they process group O while methane is released into the atmosphere when the earth is being dug up. Polluted air from vehicles are also carbon dioxide emissions that hasten the greenhouse effect. There are other sources of global warming such as the destruction of the ozone layer due to mans use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), over population while decreasing tropical rain forests, etc. To help stunt the pestilential effects of global warming, people and disposals must put aside monetary gains and demerits because not only do the polar bears need to survive but man as well. There are already many pr ograms being done by different environmentalists like the International Union for saving of Nature (IUCN), Humane Society of the United States and International fund for brute Welfare to help lessen the threats on polar bear survival. Global warming has already been addressed world-wide and one of the contracts that had never been fully implemented is the Kyoto Protocol. Many countries including the United States and United Kingdom have signed and concord to the terms of the bargain wherein the member governments will bring down their carbon dioxide emissions to levels safer for humans and other creatures alike. According to the treaty, these nations would also exchange technologies that could help plagiarise the problems of global warming. However, the U.S. and other countries failed to implement it and continue to bypass the promises made during the intend of this pact. Therefore, I believe that remediation programs are already in place but these need the sincerity of govern ments, especially the ones powerful frugalally, to succeed. Beyond government efforts, individuals can truly help force governments to fulfill their environmental obligations by lobbying for the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol and other environmental issues. In 2006, Julius Kenneth Ningu and his colleagues made a report on how the North American Free affair musical arrangement (NAFTA) was creating negative effects on Mexicos environment. According to the report, the country had good environmental policies in place and the government was strict in implementing it until the agreement forced it into an economic crisis. In just a few years, the government had to relax on its environmental policies to enable private corporations to weather the economic crisis and for the country to be able to meet the standards of the agreement. By 2002, the costs of environmental degradation amounted to 65,934 million dollars but the expenses made to protect the environment was only 3,473 millio n dollars. Governments must therefore also be forced to put into place stricter laws that would protect the environment (not only of their own country but of the countries they deal with for capital growth). Lessening use of fossil fuel is a must and the public must support the new inventions being made that would help decrease the problem of global warming. Spending more capital on machines that produce cleaner air may be more expensive but worthwhile in terms of survival.Scientific Debates Polar bears are very cool in their own habitat and nave to how scientists continually debate on whether they are going towards extinction or not. Some believe that climate change will not pose substantial problems with polar bear species survival while a relevant population in the scientific community believes that the melting of the ice in these mammals habitat will threaten their public. The U.S. Senate has already debunked the idea that polar bears are going towards extinction because of re ports that the polar bear population is at its highest bang as of the current years and that research already shows that the species can was able to withstand the interglacial period which was much warmer . (US Senate, 2008)Conclusion The survival of polar bears may not be a big issue as of the moment because it can actually be true that they can survive even worse temperatures. However, global warming is not just an issue worth noting for polar bear survival but for human existence as well. Governments must find the will to implement the laws that they already know are correct to be able to help all humans survive. It is only through the sincere will of strong and economically constant governments that a cool change can really be met.ReferencesAssignment Discovery School Lesson Plan. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2008, from http//school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/pdf/biomes_wildarctic/biomes_wildarc tic.pdf.Briggs, H. (2003). Polar Bear Extinct Within 100 Years. BBC News, Sc ience/Nature. Retrieved April 2, 2008 from http//news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2642773.stm.Chivian, E. (2001). Environment and health 7. Species loss and ecosystem disruption the implications for human health. Canadian Medical Association daybook, Vol. 164 (3). 365- 369.Comiso, J. (2003). Warming Trends in the Arctic from Clear Sky Satellite Observations. Journalof Climate, Vol. (21), pp. 3498-3510.Derocher, A., Lunn, N.J. and Stirling, I. (2004). Polar Bears in a Warming Climate. Integrative and Comparative Biology 2004 44(2),163-176.IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group. (2002) In N. J. Lunn, S. Schliebe, and E. W. Born (eds.), Polar bears Proceedings of the thirteenth Working Meeting of the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, U.K.Mauritzen, M., Derocher, A.E., Wiig, O., Belikov, S.E., Boltunov, A.N., Hansen, E., et.al. (2002). Using satellite telemetry to define spatial population structure in polar bears in the Norwegian and western Russian Arctic. Journal of Applied Ecology 39 (1) , 7990.Ningu, J.K., Jacome, J.T., Silva Gomez, S.E. and Aviles, R.P. (2006). The Effects of North America Free Trade Agreement on Mexican Environmental Policy (1994-2004). American Journal of Environmental Sciences Vol. 2(1). Pp. 5-8.Polar Bears International. (2008). About the Polar Bear. Retrieved April 2, 2008, from http//www.polarbearsinternational.org/bear-facts/about-the-polar-bear/U.S. Senate Environment and Public plant Committee. (2008). U.S. Senate Report DebunksPolar Bear Extinction Fears. Retrieved April 2, 2008, from http//epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.Facts&ContentRecord_id=cb2faa9c-802a-23ad-4bcc-29bb94ceb993.