Climate Change: Polar Bears Can"t Adapt to Lack of Food - http://clapway.com/2015/07/17/climate-change-polar-bears-cant-adapt-to-lack-of-food424/

Lately, scientists have remarked that despite polar bears’ uncanny ability to survive and thrive in freezing cold water, this unfortunately doesn’t help them in other environmental challenges. When the food supply for polar bears decreases, they appear to be incapable of slowing down their metabolism to adapt to this changing environment. Merav Ben David, a co-author of the study and part of a team of University of Wyoming researchers whose field in the Arctic was headquarters for the new report, explicated that many of his colleagues thought it impossible to complete the study, until it was finally proven that it could be done.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TO THE BEARS

Put simply, the study was intended to reinforce or eviscerate the notion that polar bears may be capable of resisting the malheurs of food displacement or reduction throughout the summer months by some innate physiological mechanism.

One of the bears under study swam for nine consecutive days, continuously, spanning a distance of almost 400 miles. This is the greatest distance a polar bear has ever been documented swimming.

WHY WOULD A BEAR EXPEND SO MUCH ENERGY?

A polar bear’s fasting period can last for up to eight months, sometimes done in a sort of hibernation-walk. But swimming is another level of energy output altogether. Increasing human activity in the Arctic is warming its waters, forcing the polar bears to expend much more energy than usual throughout the ice-free period, and this leaves no time for hibernation. These are the thoughts of a senior wildlife specialist with the World Wildlife Fund named Sybille Klenzendorf.

DETAILS OF THE STUDY

In order to complete this maximally complex research, researchers regularly checked up on the body temperatures and movements of 26 polar bears in and around the Beaufort Sea during the summers of both 2008 and 2009. Collars installed on the bears were used in conjunction with implanted tracking devices.

FINDINGS

What they found is that when there is no sea ice flowing over the waters favored by seals, polar bears’ main prey, polar bears are deprived of their food and become dangerously malnourished. When the bears were recaptured seven weeks after study’s end, one bear had lost 22% of her body mass, in addition to her little cub.

So this isn’t just science. It’s also really sad, guys.

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Climate Change: Polar Bears Can"t Adapt to Lack of Food

Climate Change: Arctic Ice Melting and Five Nations" Deal - http://clapway.com/2015/07/16/climate-change-arctic-ice-melts-and-five-nations-make-deal678/

With the effects of global climate change mounting, international politics are being forced to adapt to the migration of other species caused by human pollution. Specifically, currently, the Arctic ice sheets are breaking down into ice floes and arctic ice melting. The United States and Russia are two among three other countries whom have signed a major deal to prohibit commercial fishing in the Arctic sea ice surrounding the North Pole.

ARCTIC SAVVY NATIONS CONVENE IN OSLO

Other signing nations include Norway, Canada and Denmark. The agreement took place in Oslo, Norway. One might think coming this far in talks regarding fishing rights and prohibitions is premature because the Arctic is not predicted to have reliable fish stocks for a long time, but scientists have recently suggested the opposite more likely because of the thinning ice expected to occur this summer.

WHY CAN’T WE ALL GET ALONG UP THERE

The deal became necessary when several neighboring nations all submitted claim over Arctic territory. Considering these contradictory claims is a 21-member UN arbitration panel. A main geographic object of legal elocution is the Lomonosov Ridge, which is a 1,120 mile (1,800 km) long underwater mountain range, splitting the Arctic into two halves.

VARIOUS CLAIMS AND TRANSGRESSIONS

Denmark claims right over Arctic territory by proxy of Greenland, which is technically an autonomous Danish territory. Increasing complicity is the fact that earlier this year the Russian Deputy Prime Minister named Dmitry Rogozin actually opened a drifting Russian base on an Arctic ice flow, defying an already established Norwegian travel ban.

There was a deal almost completed last year which would have successfully barred fishing, but it was halted in March 2014 when Russia annexed the Ukrainian Crimea peninsula.

US WANTS INTERNATIONAL CONSENSUS IN ARCTIC

US support the creation of a “precautionary approach” in the Arctic area, as a fail safe to any uncomfortably political encounters or transgressions that may still be yet to come. A US statement said that these five countries involved in the deal agree to allow fishing in the area “only once one or more international mechanisms are in place to manage any such fishing in accordance with recognised international standards.”

NORWAY WANTS GLOBAL CONSENSUS

Boerge Brende, the Norwegian Foreign Minister also added in a statement that it’s imperative to persuade other nations not part of the deal to respect these five countries’ agreement; to stay their fishing hands when it comes to the Arctic.

GREENPEACE IS DISCONTENT

Greenpeace was thrilled about the agreement, but when they learned it was only temporary, they protested that most of the involved countries were merely doing this to preserve to possibility of resource extraction indifferent to local populations, and that the “protect the Arctic” theme was just a façade.

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Climate Change: Arctic Ice Melting and Five Nations" Deal