Every day as we walk outside, we feel the weather getting hotter, and more humid. But most of us just shrug it off and put a silent reminder in our head to wear less the next day. Few of us pay much attention to this problem since it seems gradual and far-off, rather than immediately threatening. However, ever since the 1850s, climate change has crept into our earth, blending into the shadows, slowly eating away at our land [1]. And now, while the amount of solid land hasn’t noticeably changed for humans, it has significantly decreased for the animals living in the Arctic.
What is so-called global warming? Global warming, which causes climate change, is when heat gets trapped inside the earth’s atmosphere. When the sun casts light down to Earth, the light bounces back and escapes into space. However, when we burn carbon dioxide and release it into the air, it forms a big trap that coats the bridge between the sky and space. The sunlight enters our atmosphere easily but gets blocked when trying to escape. Since the heat has nowhere to go, it stays inside the boundaries of our atmosphere, slowly adding up and increasing the temperature at an alarming rate [2].
If this already seems alarming to you, think about how distressing it is for the animals that live on ice. In 1988, 26% of the ice in the Arctic was 4 years of age or older. However, by 2013, only 7% of the same-aged ice was still there. Old ice is very crucial to polar bears and other Arctic species since it is more stable and thick. Another study in 2018 showed that over the last 6 decades, the thickness of sea ice has decreased by 66%. Thinner ice breaks easily, separating unsuspecting families, and making their homes smaller. Now, ice is shrinking faster than ever, at an alarming 14% per decade.
This doesn’t only affect the amount of land polar bears get, it also affects the amount of food they can catch. The polar bear can burn through 12,325 calories a day, even if they seem inactive. This is why they solely rely on seals as their source of food. They do not eat the meat of the seal, but the fat from the blubber of the seal, and can gain as much as 100,000 calories from a single meal [4]. Polar bears usually stalk the seals on land when they are up resting, or wait for them by their breathing holes to strike when they come up. However, with the melting ice, these bears have to swim instead to reach seal populations. Studies have shown that although they can make the long-distance swim, it tires them out, and takes much more of their energy than walking. It is even harder for the pups, who are used to learning to stalk on land. It is estimated that by 2050, 2/3s of the world's population of polar bears could become extinct [5].
So what can you do? Standing 2,792 miles from the Arctic, trying to help these animals seems in vain. But you don’t need to catch their food, or even make fake ice. You can simply start by raising awareness of global warming. And don’t just scream “Stop global warming!”. Instead, tell people why they should care, and how they can help. Start going green by eating less meat and more fresh produce. Plant trees and stop using non-recyclable items. With 8 billion of us in the world, we must make a change, since this is a mess we’ve made. It’s time we cleaned it up.
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