From melting ice to hope: help endangered polar bears
Melting ice (due to human-induced climate change – confirmed by 97% of climate scientists – the other 3% are funded by the oil industry) stops polar bears from hunting seals, their main source of food.
Polar bears must swim longer distances, or wander onto land where food is scarce and they come into contact with humans (polar bears are also at risk from hunting and oil/plastic pollution).
Climate scientists say that if current planet trends continue, the Arctic could see ice-free summers (a death sentence for polar bears, as they can’t adapt to life on land).
Sea ice is polar bears’ hunting ground
If the sea ice melts, it’s like you living near a supermarket that only opens a few months a year. What are you going to eat the rest of the time?
For humans, the Arctic is a harshly inhospitable place. But the conditions there are precisely what polar bears require to survive – and thrive. ‘Harsh’ to us, is ‘home’ for them.
Take away the ice and snow, increase the temperature by even a little, and the realm that makes their lives possible, literally melts away. Sylvia Earle
Simple swaps to help polar bears
The main way to help is to preserve the Arctic Circle, leaving it free from pollution from oil and drilling for oil. This is why Trump’s recent decision to ‘drill, drill, drill’ is at risk of sending these amazing creatures extinct.
- Use less oil (drive and fly less) and switch to green energy. Ecotricity is the only company that does not make green energy, from burning animal carcasses from abattoirs.
- Never visit zoos (polar bears have around 1 million times more space in the wild). There are plenty of wildlife ecologists helping to preserve natural habitats in their real homes.
- Use your vote. This is so important. Choosing politicians that stand up to the USA on policies like drilling for oil and gas (not advocate ‘net stupid zero’ is what we need.
Please don’t let Trump buy Greenland
This is terrifying. Because if Trump were to annexe Greenland, he would undoubtedly open up this area to explore for oil, and this would likely be the extinction of polar bears.
With his approval ratings at an all-time low in the USA, it seems increasingly likely that he could be impeached, if (and likely) when the Republicans badly lose in the mid-term elections at the end of 2026.
It’s widely expected that (given the unpopularity of vice-president JD Vance) the Democrats will win the next Presidency. So hopefully, the polar bears will then be at least safer.
