Not only Why People Should Save Polar Bear but How.

Research Paper

Try to imagine that two polar bears stand on thin ice; there is nothing surrounding them but sea. They look exhausted and hopeless. Actually, it truly happened in the Arctic. This year, the Daily Mail took a dramatic photo and showed what the plight polar bears face (Mouland, 2007). Furthermore, scientists predicted that the Arctic would lose its ice cover in summer by 2030 (Artic sea ice cover at record low, 2007). All these pointed out that humans should take actions for polar bears immediately.

Polar bear is the biggest carnivore, which can be 10 feet tall and 1700 ponds (Mouland, 2007), in the Arctic, and survives by hunting seals. They are also may be used as a standard to monitor the ecosystem of the Arctic by measuring their hair, body fat and weight. Basically, polar bears rely on the floating ice to move to faraway places for hunting in summer. Although polar bear are adjusted to the water and can be swimming a long distance easily, the impact of ice declining has really crashed their lifestyle. In other words, polar bears need to swim longer than before, and that can deplete their energy and make them exposed to danger indirectly. As a result, the melting of sea ice has forced polar bears to become endangered.

Recently, the increased emission of greenhouse gases has accelerated global warming and caused the shrinking of ice caps. Scientists have predicted that the Arctic could have no ice in summer by 2040 (Polar bears on thin ice, 2007). In addition, In Broder’s (2007) article “Warming is seen as wiping out most polar bears” the US government scientists reported that two-thirds of the world’s polar bears will disappear by 2050. One of the reasons is that their habitats are disappearing; another is illegal hunting, which is been considered the biggest cause to lead to their extinction (Langan, 2007). Moreover, taking polar bears away could cause a disaster in the Arctic. It could increase the amount of seals and make the marine ecosystem face destruction. In brief, polar bears cannot protect themselves, but humans can protect them. As a result, people should save polar bears from extinction.

First, people should slow down the melting of sea ice by decreasing the production of greenhouse gases. The increasing of carbon dioxide, which is one kind of greenhouse gas, is related to temperature rising. Humans should try to find or create a renewable energy to replace unrenewable energies, such as oil and coal, which produce a mass of carbon dioxide when burning. Today, solar energy is being considered as a perfect new energy. Scientists have tried to use solar energy to heat houses or water and have had great successes. There are obvious progresses in solar energy products. For example, the hi-tech vehicle, which is running by sunshine, may enter our daily life after 30 to 50 years. In addition, the carbon dioxide production has been rising more than two percent annually (Polar bears on thin ice, 2007). People should cut the emission of carbon dioxide by installing energy-efficient appliances or saving energy, such as taking public transportation or cutting off the power supply of offices at night.

Second, for the long term, illegal hunting is the biggest factor to threaten the polar bear population. Some people, like Inuit and Nunavut, have the tradition of hunting polar bears, and they believe that the activity should be maintained. For an Inuit hunter, it is not only a preservation of tradition but also a way to create income (Krauss, 2007). There were more than 40 polar bears that had been killed by hunters annually. Now those polar bears are endangered, many people are claiming that why the tradition should be continued. As a result, many countries, such as Canada and Norway, have made laws to ban illegal hunting. These laws have contributed to protecting the polar bear. In fact, In Canada's eastern Arctic, one of 19 polar bear populations grew to 2,100, up from 850 in the mid-1980s (Langan, 2007). Considering all of the above, people should push all countries to make laws to ban illegal hunting. Humans should seek a balance between cultural and environmental issues.

Third, helping polar bears to migrate to more northern areas from their current habitat is another solution. Although the Arctic has lost its ice cover gradually, the north part of the Arctic still abounds with ice. Recently, the evidence has showed that polar bears have been moving toward the north part (Langan, 2007). In other words, polar bears have the ability to adapt to a new environment. People can use advanced technological instruments to help polar bears transplant. Even now, scientists do not have any project about moving polar bear to the Antarctica. In “Job swap” Pond claimed, “polar bears would probably survive in the Antarctic, and the Southern Ocean around it, but they could devastate the native wildlife” (Par. 3). That means that polar bears can live in other icy environments, but could damage the original species, such as penguins. However, it may be a solution to move the polar bear into an icy island in the Antarctic, and try to isolate them from penguins.

Finally, ecotourism is another way to advocate globalism and inspire people to think about how the ecological balance and biodiversity should be valued. In simpler terms, ecotourism combines the natural resource with tours for humans and focuses on environmental protection and learning a new way to live on the planet. It is based on the rule that minimizes the impact on the environment. Moreover, it can give the environmental protection organization financial support that can help them program more efficient projects for keeping the ecosystem balanced. For example, governments can help Inuit and Nunavut people to develop the ecotourism business. It not only can add income for them, but also can intensify the idea to save polar bears.

Some people claimed we should spend money to help alleviate poverty and get a better life quality instead of saving polar bears. On the one hand, a study has showed that some species could adapt to the mild climate change (Bhattacharya, 2004). That is one of the reasons that why the population of polar bears is climbing today in some coastal spots. However, scientists predicted that the Arctic would become an ice free world in summer by 2030 (Arctic sea ice cover at record low, 2007). It is impossible for polar bears to survive in ice-free surroundings. On the other hand, some people claimed that the amount of polar bears is increasing. Nevertheless, according to Langan (2007), “the increase in the population is not a climate-change related issue. It’s the result of conservation and an increase in the harp seal population”. As a result, undoubtedly, polar bear will become extinct in several decades.

In conclusion, global warming is linked to human activities directly. People have the responsibility to take the consequences and to solve the problem. The climate change is not only threatening polar bears but all species. People should try to reduce the greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide in order to cool the Earth and to reserve the ice of the Arctic. Moreover, international countries should promote laws to ban illegal hunting to keep the amount of polar bears. Transplanting is another option that would help the polar bear to move to a suitable environment. In addition, people can work in ecotourism, which can benefit for endangered species and their habitats. However, the melting of the Arctic is progressing. We should not just watch the problem become worse and do nothing. People should take some actions that would save polar bears from extinction immediately.

Reference

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Broder, J., (2007, September 7). Warming is seen as wiping out most polar bears. The New York Times. Retrieved November 01, 2007, from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/08/science/earth/08polar.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Job swap. (2005) NewScientist.com. Retrieved November 07, 2007, from http://www.newscientist.com/backpage.ns?id=mg18725133.000

Krauss, C. (2006, May 27). Bear hunting caught in global warming debate. The New York Times. Retrieved November 07, 2007, from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/27/world/americas/27bears.html

Langan, F. (2007, May 3). Canadian controversy: How do polar bears fare? Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved October 25, 2007, from Lexis-Nexis database

Mouland, B. (2007). Global warming sees polar bears stranded on melting ice. Daily Mail. Retrieved November 11, 2007, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=433170&in_page_id=1770

Polar bears on thin ice. (2007, January 10). Greenpeace International. Retrieved October 23, 2007, from http://www.greenpeasce.org/international/news/polar-bears-on-thin-ice