Save the polar bears- stop petroleum installations in the Arctic & improve global warming
The Issue
Millions have seen the heart-wrenching videos and pictures of a polar bear clinging to life, its white hair limply covering its thin, bony frame. The reason? Global warming. The increase in global temperature has caused the polar ice caps to melt.
Polar bears play an important part in the environment, they are at the top of the food chain and they impact the overall health of the marine environment. Polar bears depend on sea ice as a platform from which to hunt for food such as seals, as well as to rest and breed. Polar bears rely on these ice caps for food and for shelter. The summer ice has been decreasing in size for decades and melting for longer periods of time. The bears must move longer distances to stay with the rapidly receding ice caps. Because of melting sea ice, it is likely that more polar bears will soon starve as they are now having to swim longer distances in order to hunt. As they are swimming, they get tired however, because of the melting ice caps, there is no where for the bears to go and rest. These long swims are leaving polar bears and their cubs too exhausted and hungry to survive.
Climate change is heating up the Arctic faster than anywhere else, and the sea ice is decreasing 14 percent per decade. Even today, in the middle of the bitter cold Arctic winter, satellites show there is about 770 000 square miles less sea ice than between 1981 and 2010. This is an area larger than Alaska and California combined
Additionally, offshore petroleum installations and other operations in the Arctic are expected to increase in numbers. This expansion would likely affect polar bears and their habitat in many ways, including contact with spilled oil which would be fatal to the lives of these polar bears. Contact with an oil spill would affect the entire food chain. The noise that is generated from onshore and offshore oil operations would cause disturbance to the polar bears too.
We as a people, need to put a stop to petroleum installations and other operations in the arctic as well as reduce our carbon footprint to help save the polar bears.
The Issue
Millions have seen the heart-wrenching videos and pictures of a polar bear clinging to life, its white hair limply covering its thin, bony frame. The reason? Global warming. The increase in global temperature has caused the polar ice caps to melt.
Polar bears play an important part in the environment, they are at the top of the food chain and they impact the overall health of the marine environment. Polar bears depend on sea ice as a platform from which to hunt for food such as seals, as well as to rest and breed. Polar bears rely on these ice caps for food and for shelter. The summer ice has been decreasing in size for decades and melting for longer periods of time. The bears must move longer distances to stay with the rapidly receding ice caps. Because of melting sea ice, it is likely that more polar bears will soon starve as they are now having to swim longer distances in order to hunt. As they are swimming, they get tired however, because of the melting ice caps, there is no where for the bears to go and rest. These long swims are leaving polar bears and their cubs too exhausted and hungry to survive.
Climate change is heating up the Arctic faster than anywhere else, and the sea ice is decreasing 14 percent per decade. Even today, in the middle of the bitter cold Arctic winter, satellites show there is about 770 000 square miles less sea ice than between 1981 and 2010. This is an area larger than Alaska and California combined
Additionally, offshore petroleum installations and other operations in the Arctic are expected to increase in numbers. This expansion would likely affect polar bears and their habitat in many ways, including contact with spilled oil which would be fatal to the lives of these polar bears. Contact with an oil spill would affect the entire food chain. The noise that is generated from onshore and offshore oil operations would cause disturbance to the polar bears too.
We as a people, need to put a stop to petroleum installations and other operations in the arctic as well as reduce our carbon footprint to help save the polar bears.
Petition Updates
Share this petition
Petition created on 13 May 2020