Here's an item that does connect climate change
http://www.care2.com/causes/environment/blog/polar-bear-must-swim-for-9-days-to-find-sea-ice/
On 26 January 2011 09:55, Bob Ward <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear John,
>
> Many thanks for this interesting message. I didn't see the news item,
> but if the interviewee who "ducked" the question was a scientist, I can
> understand why.
>
> Climate change is about long-term trends, and single events and
> anecdotal information are not really very good indicators of the
> presence or absence of any trend.
>
> The story of one polar bear found swimming for a long time is not really
> very good evidence about the impact of retreating Arctic sea ice. A
> large population of bears shown to have changed their behaviour over
> many years might be more convincing. This story might be illustrative of
> a trend, or it might just be about a bear that got lost.
>
> The fate of the polar bear has become a pawn in the highly politicized
> debate about climate change, particularly in the United States. It is
> not hard to conclude that retreating Arctic ice must be having an impact
> on the polar bear population - but whether you can yet detect that
> impact yet is another question entirely. I think it would be much better
> to find some solid research papers which have looked at impacts on polar
> bear populations and use that as the basis for any campaign.
>
> Bob Ward
>
> Policy and Communications Director
> Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
> London School of Economics and Political Science
> Houghton Street
> London WC2A 2AE
>
> http://www.lse.ac.uk/grantham
>
> Tel. +44 (0) 20 7106 1236
> Mob. +44 (0) 7811 320346
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Discussion list for the Crisis Forum
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of John Nissen
> Sent: 25 January 2011 23:24
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Extraordinary bear swim
>
> Hi all,
>
> At 10.40 pm on BBC Radio 10 'oclock news tonight, there was a news item
> about a female bear in Alaska who had been telemonitored swimming for 9
> days non-stop, losing 20% of her body-weight. She started off swimming
> with a cub, which was presumed to have died on the way. The interviewer
>
> asked questions about whether the bear was expecting to find sea-ice
> much sooner, and whether the sea-ice had retreated due to global
> warming. The interviewee completely ducked the questions! It is as if
> it is now taboo to say anything about global warming. I think this
> could be a repercussion of the climategate affair. Scientists are just
>
> too afraid to say anything that might be seized by climate deniers,
> because they have been so vociferous. Isn't it important that we should
>
> tell the world that sea ice is at a record low extent for this time of
> year, has been steadily diminishing in volume since 2007 and is now in
> such a fragile state that it could suddenly disappear during one summer
> within the next few years? It is thus unlikely that polar bears will
> survive in their Arctic habitat for much longer.
>
> What do you think? Could this bear story be a wake-up call for action
> to save the Arctic sea ice? I am hoping that you, Kieran, from the
> Center for Biological Diversity will take this up. The Arctic is an
> important part of the Earth's climate system and the Arctic ecosystem is
>
> important for the marine food chain. The sea ice is part of the
> planet's thermostatic control mechanism. It would be extremely
> dangerous to lose it. Scientists expect massive amounts of methane to
> be released from permafrost as the Arctic continues to warm, causing an
> addition to global warming of many degrees.
>
> Could a bear prove to be the 'canary in the mine' for unbearable climate
>
> change?
>
> John
>
> Please access the attached hyperlink for an important electronic communications disclaimer: http://lse.ac.uk/emailDisclaimer
>
--
taking steps to prevent the earth from becoming completely unlivable
should, for the moment, take precedence over tasks that do not do that
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