Polar bears, white-furred beauties of the northern Arctic, are intrepid survivors who live on sea ice and swim between ice floes. Their semi-webbed feed and water-repellent coats have allowed them to flourish despite this challenging existence. But now they desperately need help from humans, because global warming is causing the sea ice they depend on for survival to melt rapidly.

There may be 22,000 polar bears in twenty different population groups on the planet, but their numbers are decreasing because of global warming, and many environmentalists believe they should be listed as "Threatened". Some are drowning because of the increasing distance between land and the sea ice, where they have to swim to catch ringed seals, their primary source of nourishment. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Boulder, the sea ice that polar bears depend on for hunting is melting to the tune of over 23,000 square miles a year.

Polar bear cub survival is down from 65% in the early 1990s to 43% now. Also, the bears' period for foraging is shrinking to a period later in the autumn to earlier in the spring, not enough time to build up their fat stores so they can rest and fast on land during summer and autumn. Summer sea ice is decreasing by over 9% every decade and could disappear entirely, which means that polar bears will become extinct less than a century from now, if something is not done about it.

As inhabitants of the ecologically fragile Arctic, which can be dramatically affected by small increases in temperature, polar bears are now facing increased temperatures and altered precipitation patterns. In addition, the oil and gas exploration industry in the Arctic has disturbed and polluted their habitats. Oil spills that may occur in the process of offshore oil extraction are a constant danger to all wild animals because they are hard to locate and clean up.

Another threat from oil spills to the previously isolated northern polar bear populations is the opening of the Northwest Passage. In September of 2007 it was announced by the European Space Agency that due to major ice loss from global warming, the Northwest Passage for shipping routes had opened up for the first time since records began to be kept in 1978. This means that the passage will now be navigable by large ships in reduced sea ice conditions, and it may open permanently sooner than anyone anticipated.

There is also the threat of pollution in the form of toxic chemicals like heavy metals and radioactive elements that are transported from the south to the Arctic via draining river systems, wind, and ocean currents. These chemicals have a particular affinity for fat molecules, which polar bears obtain from their prey and store in their bodies. These industrial pollutants can cause all kinds of physical problems like immune system and reproductive impairment and behavioral and mental deterioration.

Indigenous people such as the Eskimos of North America and the Saami of Scandinavia depend on polar bears for their food and generally hunt for subsistence only. But over-hunting and poaching of smaller polar bear populations in areas without strict hunting enforcement is a significant issue that has also contributed to their reduced numbers. They've become easier to kill by hunters and poachers because they're stranded on land for longer periods.

Global warming is a powerful force that may eventually destroy the habitat of these magical white bears if humans do not work to reduce the damage. Unfortunately, the Bush administration has decided not to sign the Kyoto Protocol, making the U.S. the only country with land in the Arctic region that refuses to set mandatory limits for reduction of toxic emissions that contribute to global warming by 2012. Add to that all the self-styled polar bear experts like right-wing radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, who claims that the polar bear is in no danger and human-caused global warming is just a paranoid fantasy created by wacko liberal environmentalists. Will the small window of opportunity to save these creatures be closed forever?

http://www.worldwildlife.org/polarbears/