Dr. Susan Crockford, Zoologist, of www.polarbearscience.com advises us of this:
“We are now the polar bear” says Mann today (below) [a few weeks ago it was Patricia Romero Lankao of the federally financed National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado saying “The polar bear is us” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/24/climate-change-dangers_n_5019412.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular]
Scientists Speak Out: The New IPCC Report
The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a U.N. group, warns that man-made climate change is already causing destruction around the globe. And it will only get worse unless we act quickly.
Leading climate and polar bear scientists share their thoughts on the report and the path forward:
Dr. Michael Mann, Distinguished Professor and Director, Earth System Science Center
What the latest report shows is that climate change is adversely impacting us now, wherever we live. It isn’t just the Arctic and the polar bear anymore. We are now the polar bear. If we are to avert increasingly dangerous and potentially irreversible changes in our climate, we need to act now. We must transition from our reliance on fossil fuels to alternative, renewable sources of energy that do not threaten the health of our planet.[bold in original]
Dr. Steven Amstrup, Chief Scientist, Polar Bears International
In 2007, I projected that global warming was likely to eliminate two-thirds of the world’s polar bears by the middle of this century. After making that point in a recent public lecture, a college student in the audience asked what would happen to the rest of the polar bears if we fail to act in time to head off that ‘mid-century polar bear crisis.’ My answer:
At that point, no one will be thinking about polar bears, because coping with and adapting to ongoing human crises will consume all of society’s resources.
The recent report by Working Group II of the IPCC adds emphasis in spades to my response. The hundreds of scientists whose independent research composes the IPCC concluded that:
- Climate change already is negatively affecting every part of the globe
- The frequency and severity of extreme weather will continue to increase as long as greenhouse gas levels rise
- Along with steep and rapid reductions in emissions, we will need to develop plans for coping with a constantly changing world with ever new and more difficult challenges
The good news, however, is that while the panel concluded the world cannot afford inaction, it emphasized we still have time to stop the worst effects of warming. If we do, we also are likely to save polar bears.
Dr. Gavin Schmidt, Deputy Chief, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
The IPCC report is an enormous achievement and great resource for the scientific community and the public alike. But more than that, it provides a clear summary of where we are and what can be done. How we should act in the face of this information is complex and should be discussed at all levels. I hope only that those discussions are fully informed about what the science is showing—and that these discussions lead to meaningful action.
Dr. Ian Stirling, Research Scientist Emeritus, Canadian Wildlife Service
The recent report from the IPCC is stunning and should be a major stimulus for governments around the world to develop a global plan to reduce greenhouse gases … soon. One of the most important messages is that there is still time, but not that much of it, if the world is to restrain warming within manageable bounds.
The situation in the Arctic, though, is more dire and changing rapidly. The climate is warming there more rapidly than elsewhere on the planet, with the result that the sea ice is now disappearing even more quickly than once predicted by several different models. That is bad news, not just for polar bears, but for the whole Arctic marine ecosystem.
Why climate warming is so critical for polar bears is a simple concept and easily understood, even by children. Polar bears need ice to be able to hunt their primary prey: marine mammals, primarily seals. No ice means no ice bear. That isn’t complicated to understand.
http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/news-room/pbi-blog/scientists-speak-out-new-ipcc-report
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Wasn’t it just last winter when some young doofus on one of those ill-equipped Polar Expotitions was killed and eaten by a PB?
In the real world there has been no global warming in this century and the polar bear population is increasing. It’s important to remember these people are talking about the polar bears in la la land, where they are from.
I did find some info on the internet. The Inuits do track and kill bears. It is part of the culture, and polar bears do not hibernate either but mother bears will create a den to have their cubs in until they are old enough to venture outside. The Inuits do not agree with the climate change alarmists,they say there are over 20,000 to 25,000 bears around, most in Canada. There was a 17 year old killed last year on a camping trip with many others, the bear was shot of course. But considering their estimated numbers, few human deaths are accorded to them, in comparison to other bears like black and brown bears. But the Inuits do not want an protective laws as the bears are part of their culture with spiritual meaning, and are not endangered.