Polar bears have been in the news quite a bit lately but, unfortunately for them, the news isn’t good. Arctic ice is melting which is bad news for them because they depend on the ice to survive. One would think that “no ice” — something one can clearly observe just by opening one’s eyes — would be a clear indicator that something must be done. But, no, apparently it isn’t. You see, the problem is that those in need of opening their eyes, refuse to do so.
Who are these blind fools?
None other than those political hacks working at the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) who make decisions as to which animals should be protected under the Endangered Species Act.
The FWS has been sitting on the decision about polar bears several months past the deadline appointed for making said decision. They are still “thinking”. Others in the government are now pushing them to decide but the FWS is faced with a pretty big problem which is why they are hesitating.
That problem is global warming.
Arctic ice is melting. Pretty hard to pretend its not, which means that if you grudgingly admit that the ice is melting you have to contemplate why. Why does ice melt? Ice melts when the temperature rises. Arctic ice is usually pretty thick, so if it is melting then the rise in temperature is a real rise in temperature — no fluke fluctuation is going to melt that much ice and keep it melted. So, if you admit that warmer temperatures are responsible for melting ice, then you have to start at least contemplating the fact that maybe there is some truth to the rumors of global warming.
Hard to do when you have spent at least the last 7 years denying that any such thing as global warming is happening.
There aren’t any factories in the arctic. There isn’t a lot of vegetation, bacteria, or all that many animals. “Natural forces” are unlikely to be at work. I doubt that all the whales, polar bears, and arctic foxes are tooting out enough methane to make a difference. The temperature change is thus most likely associated with human activities elsewhere on the planet. Trapping of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is not a country specific phenomena — trapped gases affect all areas of the globe. To protect the ice that the polar bear needs, then, means that you have to do something about a global problem.
First, though, you have to admit that there IS a problem.
Which brings us back to the FWS. All models show a continued negative impact on arctic ice. It is going to keep melting even if we radically clean up our greenhouse mess now. It will take a while to “rebalance” the earth. However, if we don’t start now the hope of doing anything dwindles to nothing. Ice is melting. Polar bear numbers are already declining. Models show no improvement in either. Listing the bears as endangered is a necessary first step in doing something constructive to save them. That ultimately is going to mean dealing with warming. A decision to protect the polar bears thus comes down to a decision to acknowledge that 7 years of policy decisions have been wrong when it comes to global warming.
It’s hard to admit when you’re wrong, but that is what our government needs to do. There is too much scientific evidence, much of it physically observable, to ignore. The President and his political cronies need to get their heads out of the sand, admit they have been wrong, and make an active push to correct their mistakes. Bush still has a year in office where he can do something other than look like a lump on a toad’s butt. We’re the biggest gas emitters out there. It’s time we admit it.
The ice is melting and the polar bears are already running out of time.
Let’s not wait until there’s nothing left to save.
eammasuoka