Saturday, July 19, 2008
Qns: How has global warming destructed and detroyed some parts of the beautiful Earth?
Global warming has caused a destruction in polar bear's lives as it continues to melt the ice caps.
In southern portions of their range, such as Hudson bay and the Artic, the ice is melting vastly and quickly. When it is summer, the polar bears stay on land and do not hunt or even eat anything as they wait till there is ice before they hunt animals and continue their diet. In just 20 years the ice-free period in Hudson Bay has increased by an average 20 days, leaving nearly three weeks less time each year for the bears to hunt for seals on the ice.
In this case, they have lesser time to hunt for animals as the heat in the air increases. As a result, the bears are skinnier and have lower reproductive rates than when the ice persisted throughout the seals’ birthing period. As average bear weight has dropped by 15%, reproduction has declined and the population is down more than 20%.
Already, more than 25 percent of the world's polar bear populations are in decline and evidence of the dire impact of global warming on polar bears continues to mount. That evidence includes polar bear drownings, cannibalism, starvation, reduced cub survival and denning dislocation. So do your part to help and hold back global warming!
Rise in localised Arctic surface temperatures over last 50 years--->4°C
Extra ice melted between 1978 and 2005-1.3 million km² ---> an area five times the size of the UK
Polar bear's weight loss for every week earlier the ice melts--->10kg
Predicted collapse of the Arctic cod stocks--->15 years
Deadline for moratorium on oil drilling around Lofoten island in the Barents Sea to be renewed--->2010
Predicted loss of all summer Arctic ice--->2040
Predicted extinction of the polar bears--->By the end of the century
Sources:
http://www.nwf.org/polarbear/pdfs/NWFPolarBearBasics_1-28-08.pdfhttp://www.wwf.org.uk/investor/inv_0000004503.asphttp://www.savebiogems.org/polar/
Environmentalist Blogged:1:53 PM
