Polor bear added to threatened species list

This week the US Department of Interior announced that polar bears will be added to the threatened species list. The dramatic loss of sea ice over the last 30 years has disrupted their environment, contributing to a sharp drop in population.

US Lists polar bear as threatened species: By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer on Yahoo! Green

Kempthorne (US Interior Department Secretary), at a news conference, was armed with slides and charts showing the dramatic decline in sea ice over the last 30 years and projections that the melting of ice — a key habitat for the bear — would continue and may even quicken.

He cited conclusions by department scientists that sea ice loss will likely result in two-thirds of the polar bears disappearing by mid-century. The bear population across the Arctic from Alaska to Greenland doubled from about 12,000 to 25,000 since 1960, but he noted that scientists now predict a significant population decline. Studies last year by the U.S. Geological Survey suggested 15,000 bears would be lost in coming decades with those in the western Hudson Bay area of Alaska and Canada under the greatest stress.

The plight of the polar bear is perfectly illustrated in the Save Our Home images presented by Steve Barbour and Alastair Firkin. It is heartbreaking to see the mother polar bear clinging to her cub on a tiny piece of ice surrounded by miles of water. You can do your part to help the polar bear. A portion of each sale is donated to the Nature Conservancy.