Blog-6: Of Ice and Men

Yulieth Hassan

Blog 6

Of Ice and Men

Of Ice and Men by Cameron m. Smith

What assumptions underlying the Hearld Sun (Melbourne) report (see “Bears Feel Heat; Polar Icon Faces Wipeout”) do the Inupiat challenge?

Global warming is affecting the natural habitat in the Alaskan Arctic for the polar bear.  The Department of Fish and Wildlife in the US have come to the conclusion that polar bears are endangered of disappearing.  Scientists believe that global warming is going to raise the temperature of the frozen sea habitat where the polar bears live - making this a sad ending for these beautiful creatures.  Below is a list of the assumptions used to make such claims:

• The first assumption was that because of the decrease in the size of the polar ice cap, then the population of polar bears must also be decreasing and, as such, they should be classified as endangered species.

• The second assumption I find was that the officials from US Fish and Wildlife assumed that the polar bears could be endangered within 45 years.

•  The third assumption I find interesting was the fact that an official from the Interior Department thought that the polar bear would be threatened with extinction.

What reasons cited by Cameron M Smith in “Of Ice and Men” go against the assumptions in this announcement reported in the Herald Sun?

The reasons cited by Mr. Smith in his article are based on facts (rather than empirical data, hypotheses, or long-term projections) provided the natural inhabitants of this region of the Alaskan Arctic, the Inupiat.  Below I am listing some of these:

• Contrary to what officials from the US Fish and Wildlife have claimed, Polar bear numbers were not declining.  Supporting the Inupiat’s statement was the observation made by the native Canadians who lived on the Hudson Bay 4000 miles away from where the polar bears are presumably declining in numbers.

• The second fact supports the first by providing an approximate number of the polar bears being annually hunted – a mere 20 bears, as compared to 200 bears being illegally hunted in Russia.  This small number is kept under control because of stringent protection laws in the US and Canada.

• The third fact, had to do with the Inupiat identification of the main problem which led officials of the US Fish and Wildlife to the perception that the polar bear should be classified as an endangered species – namely, the shrinking size of the Northern Arctic Ice Cap.  As Mr. Smith correctly wrote “Listing a species as threatened or endangered is meant to force federally backed action to preserve that species’ critical habitat.  If that habitat isn’t delineated, however, the listing has little value.” – This is exactly the point raised by the Inupiat.

There is no doubt that there is a lot of uncertainty about what the future holds for the polar bears.  The best we could do to preserve this magnificent animal is to educate ourselves and others about global warming and its detrimental effects, not only on polar bears, but also on all animal species on our planet.