The IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG) should have been disbanded in 1996, the year polar bears were down-graded from a status of ‘vulnerable to extinction’ to ‘lower risk – conservation dependent’ (now called ‘least concern’) on the IUCN Red List.
Guest essay by Dr. Susan Crockford, Zoologist
Polar bears had recovered from previous decades of wanton over-hunting — by all measures used by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, they were a conservation success story.
Why did the IUCN and Arctic governments not break up the PBSG back in 1996?
Leaving the group intact once polar bears were down-graded to ‘least concern’ simply made its members desperate to justify their existence. That’s precisely what we’ve seen over the last 20 years — PBSG members working tirelessly to ensure the organization didn’t go extinct.
In fact, polar bears are in no more danger of extinction now than they were in 1996, despite dedicated efforts of the PBSG to convince the world otherwise.
Take a look at the history and see if you come to a different conclusion.
Now this could lead to problems for some, and answers for the rest of us.
Clubs, societies and associations should exist by the pleasure of their members. The only thing that should NOT exist for all of them is taxpayer funding or recognized lobbyists.
The argument against the Polar Bear Guys is about funding, nothing more. In a democracy you can associate as you wish, publish as you wish, stand and shout on soap boxes as you wish. But you can’t – or should’t, anyway – take peoples’ money to do so without their explicit agreement.
My understanding is that the PBSG don’t get much in the way of dedicated funds. However, the cost for members of attending meetings, doing reports etc., are picked up by the governments that employ them (since most have government jobs).
WWF, a long-standing partner of the IUCN – has for many years picked up the tab for publishing their meeting proceedings (which won’t happen anymore, as they have decided simply to post things online).
One of items on the agenda of their last meeting (discussed here – http://polarbearscience.com/2014/07/01/polar-bear-specialist-group-just-had-another-secret-meeting/ ) was the need to find a source for money to pay for travel expenses for the new members that aren’t government employees.
Apparently, they didn’t think about that little wrinkle before they appointed these people, expanding the size of the group from ~20 to over 30. It is not clear if Polar Bears International picks up the tab for the PBSG-associated costs of Amstrup (and now Geoff York, who has left WWF and gone to PBI as well).
Thorough, well-documented, intelligent, thoughtful article (via the link in post above), Dr. Crockford. Thank you for sharing that WEALTH of potently useful information.
{Suggestion: @ur momisugly An-thony — Dr. Crockford’s excellent article merits being published in its own right in WUWT, not just a link — more are likely to read it, I think…}
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Well, lol, if the PBSG hadn’t existed c. 1998, it would have been invented.
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Sc@ur momisuglymmers, Inc.’s Perpetual Paradigm:
1. Invent a danger.
2. Manufacture a product to “save” people from it.
3. Hide the inherent danger of your product to its users.
4. Get the socialists to pass a law to create a market for your product.
To wit:
Sc@ur momisuglymmers, Inc.: SUV’s kill people!!!…… Buy my little Pipsqueak!
(Aside: heh, heh, and you can be the one to be killed instead.)
Sc@ur momisuglymmers, Inc. (under new management): Polar bears are DYING!!!…… Buy my windmills and solar panels!
(Aside: heh, heh, and you can freeze to death… .)
It’s getting all so serious. Some fun for the change. Courtesy of Jason Roberts and Gordon Buchanan, BBC:
Thanks for the fun, Mr. Kateenkorva, heh.
Now, back to the serious issue of pseudo-scien
:
:
:
{!!POST INTERRUPT — UNKNOWN SOURCE!! CLOSE ALL OPEN PROGRAMS NOW!!}
Yo! WU doods, listn up. This is Mama Bar, V.P. of Markting for KIC {Keep It Cumming}. Her are the facts:
— Polr bars are dieing — EVERY DAY.
— BABY polr bars die — all the time!
— Polr bars
wantneed mor fud!— Rit NOW ther are hungre polr bars. ((‘ o ‘))
Pitful, isnt it?
YOU CAN HELP!
Here how:
1. Buy BIG bunch salmin or halbt
or whatevr meet you can scroung up.
2. Stufft into an elctric car (they smash apart eesly on impact)
3. Send us yur e mail addrss.
4. We send u the Lat/Long cordinuts for yur ayr drop.
3. Drop the car.
DO NOT BLEVE DR. CROCKFORD — WE POLR BARS KNOW BEST.
Thankng yu in advanc,
Mama Bar
Thank you sweet Janice for your posts. They are and have always been one of the best antidotes to my chronic cAGW-poisoning. It turns out I spent more than an hour to find and post the suitable BBC clip yesterday, only to realize that you posted in between and became an unintended victim of my symptoms. Apologies.
Dear Mr. Kateenkorva,
How very, VERY kind of you to speak to me so kindly. If you only knew how much I needed THAT antidote to counter the coldness of a certain person in my life … .
And you didn’t interrupt my posting, not at all. I was trying to be funny (too silly for most, no doubt, heh — thanks for your appreciation!) along WITH YOU.
#(:)) Way to go, persevering to find that clip. Yeah, sometimes it takes FOREVER to find just the right thing. Thanks again for your efforts!
Your grateful WUWT pal,
Janice
Speaking as a seal, I wish it were true that polar bears are dying – they keep eating my friends.
lol #(:))
(found the following stuck under the windshield wiper of my car — grrr)
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Message from Envirowackos for the World:
PEOPLE kill polar bears. PEOPLE kill seals.
Polar bears only eat tofu and drink Coke.
Send us more money.
We take VISA.
EW
LOL! OMG! Janice,please, in the future, give us a warning! My soda is gumming up my keyboard!
That is priceless!
Hey, Ol’ Meatloaf Buddy Ol’ Pal — THANK YOU (esp. for saying so!).
#(:))