Is Global Warming Killing the Polar Bears?
By JIM CARLTON
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
December 14, 2005
It may be the latest evidence of global warming: Polar bears are drowning.
Scientists for the first time have documented multiple deaths of polar bears off Alaska, where they likely drowned after swimming long distances in the ocean amid the melting of the Arctic ice shelf. The bears spend most of their time hunting and raising their young on ice floes.
In a quarter-century of aerial surveys of the Alaskan coastline before 2004, researchers from the U.S. Minerals Management Service said they typically spotted a lone polar bear swimming in the ocean far from ice about once every two years. Polar-bear drownings were so rare that they have never been documented in the surveys.
But in September 2004, when the polar ice cap had retreated a record 160 miles north of the northern coast of Alaska, researchers counted 10 polar bears swimming as far as 60 miles offshore. Polar bears can swim long distances but have evolved to mainly swim between sheets of ice, scientists say.
The researchers returned to the vicinity a few days after a fierce storm and found four dead bears floating in the water. “Extrapolation of survey data suggests that on the order of 40 bears may have been swimming and that many of those probably drowned as a result of rough seas caused by high winds,” the researchers say in a report set to be released today.
While the government researchers won’t speculate on why a climate change is taking place in the Arctic, environmentalists unconnected to the survey say U.S. policies emphasizing oil and gas development are exacerbating global warming, which is accelerating the melting of the ice. “For anyone who has wondered how global warming and reduced sea ice will affect polar bears, the answer is simple — they die,” said Richard Steiner, a marine-biology professor at the University of Alaska.
The environmental group Greenpeace began airing a 30-second commercial yesterday in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and other cities showing an animated adult polar bear and a cub on a cracking ice floe. The two bears, nowhere near land, slip underneath the water. “Polar bears may soon be extinct because of global warming,” the voice-over states. It ends with “Global Warming: It’s the Real Thing,” a takeoff of a Coca-Cola Co. commercial featuring polar bears.
Some experts say that climate change may indeed be shrinking the ice pack, but they dispute that emissions are the main culprit or that significantly cutting greenhouse gases would really make a difference. “Whether humans are responsible for some, most, or all of the current warming trend in the Arctic, there is no proposal on the table that would actually prevent continued warming or reverse present trends,” said Sterling Burnett, a senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis, a nongovernment organization based in Dallas. “The question is how to adapt to future changes in climate, regardless of the direction or the cause.”
In addition to documenting polar-bear deaths, the Minerals Management Service researchers, Chuck Monnett, Jeffrey Gleason and Lisa Rotterman, also found a striking shift in the bears’ habits. From 1979 to 1991, 87% of the bears spotted were found mostly on sea ice. From 1992 to 2004, the percentage dropped to 33%. Most of the remaining bears have been found either in the ocean or on beaches, congregating around carcasses of whales butchered by hunters. In the past, polar bears were rarely seen at such kill sites, because they spent their time hunting their favorite meal — seals — on sea ice.
Marine experts consider the findings — to be presented at a marine-mammal conference this week in San Diego — an ominous sign. Some have warned for years that a rapid thawing of the Arctic from global warming could endanger species like the polar bear. Already, a warmer Alaska over the past half-century has been linked to increased erosion of rivers and streams, insect infestations and the undermining of pipelines and roads as the permafrost thaws.
Alarmed by the swift changes, the Alaska Inter-Tribal Council, a consortium of the state’s tribes, earlier this month passed a resolution urging that the U.S. government enact a mandatory program to reduce global warming.
Some scientists predict polar bears could become extinct within the next century because they have adapted over the millennia to only hunting on ice. If they try to swim in disappearing ice conditions to catch seals, more are likely to tire and drown, scientists say. Polar bears that stay onshore aren’t adapted to hunting land animals like caribou, which are preyed upon by more-aggressive grizzly bears. Polar bears also require more fat intake than most food on land offers them, experts say.
“As the sea ice goes, that will direct to a very great extent what happens to polar bears,” said Steven Amstrup, a polar-bear specialist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Anchorage, Alaska.
Another study set to be released at the marine-mammal conference shows what might happen to the Alaskan polar bears over time. Researchers from the USGS, the University of Wyoming and the Canadian Wildlife Service found that the population of polar bears in Canada’s western Hudson Bay — near the southernmost habitat for the bears in the world — fell to 935 in 2004 from 1,194 in 1987, a 22% drop. Researchers said the decline — the first recorded for these bears — came in tandem with an extension by nearly a full month in the time it takes for Hudson Bay to ice over after the summer.
“Our findings may foreshadow how more northerly populations will respond to projected warming in the Arctic ecosystem,” wrote Mr. Amstrup, a co-author of the report.
Previous studies by the U.S. and Canadian governments support a link between the decline in sea ice in the Arctic and the ways polar bears try to adapt to their surroundings. For example, researchers say polar bears in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska and Canada used to spend most of their lives jumping from ice floe to ice floe in pursuit of seals. Only pregnant bears would occasionally wander onto the mainland, in search of a den.
But weekly aerial surveys by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service show that, over the past five years, an unusually large number of bears have congregated along the beaches. Between the coastal town of Barrow, Alaska and the Canadian border, about 300 miles east, researchers counted as many as 200 bears on land, said Scott Schliebe, director of the Fish and Wildlife’s polar-bear project. Many bears could be seen gathered around whale carcasses near villages like Kaktovik, which lies in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge where the Bush administration is pushing for drilling.
Scientists measured the distances from where the bears were gathered to the nearest ice sheets at sea and found this correlation: The farther the ice was from shore, the larger the number of bears were found on land.
Scientists estimate there are 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears world-wide, including about 2,000 that frequent the Beaufort Sea off Alaska. The latest population study by federal officials, in 1997, suggested the Alaskan bear population wasn’t endangered. An update is expected by the end of next year.
Polar Bears are very good swimmers and we can’t see what’s going on outside of this photo…there’s probably a whole load of land just off to the right. I’m sure it survived.
I hope whomever took that photo was able to help that polar bear make it to another iceberg without it having to swim hundreds of miles to get there. This is really heartbreaking.
I appreciate people who research wildlife, but it bothers me that they never interfere. At this point in the world the odds are so stacked against nature and wildlife survival that humans need to intervene. There is nothing wrong with saving the lives of an animals when we can We’ve taken so much from them, so isn’t it our moral duty.
people who says global warming is a myth just refuse to face the reality ..it’s worse than saying that we didn’t land on the moon. it is a FACT and it’s not DENIABLE !! wake up people…hundreds of bears are suffering and dying. poor bear. the most important is to know and admit that it is not a myth. because if we do so, it will happen the same as what happened on the titanic, the ochestra continued playing…see ya .xxooxx
we really have to do somethin. this is really happening now…I don’t care about if the pix is false…I mean it’s real. I saw videos and stuff. my uncle lives in groenland and it’s very sad. people just look at it and they say ” it’s so sad” but nothing’s happening. they have the right to survive!
BAd photoshop? come on people this picute is real. It won 2nd or 1st place in a worldwide prestgious best natur picture competition. the photographer is norwegian, and it has become rather famous.
alana;
you are an ignorant liberal. pull your head out of your fat butt.
global warming is scientifically and biblically proven to be false. 20 years from now no one will be talking about it, whoever started this whole myth is making alot of money..just like he planned on.
You said “global warming is scientifically and biblically proven to be false.”
When did the Bible become an accepted source for scientific research? Did I miss something?
And if perhaps somewhere in Matthew, it does say “Thou shalt not believe in global warming. Please drive SUVs”, scientifically, global warming is indeed a fact that I believe is rather undisputed by reputable scientists.
If you want to save the polar bear adjust your lives so you emit less carbon into the atmosphere, but of course nobody wants to do that - everybody wants to drive their OWN cars instead of taking public transportation, everybody wants to be nicely warm and cool instead of having a moderate temperature, everybody throws everything in the garbage instead of recycling and dividing their recyclabes, everybody buys their 59th pair of shoes or jeans instead of donating their time (and possibly money) to a just cause. Bottom line: most people are lazy and living a convenient life, and history has shown us that something bad has to happen to get a ‘wake-up call.’ Whether you believe in global warming or not, we are living an extremely irresponsible life and you owe it to nobody else but yourself to change that.
i read that in 50 years, 75% of the polar bear population will be wiped off the face of the earth. i believe in this global warming thing, so what can we do to make sure it’s not too late already
All it takes is a little of our time and we can make a big difference. Riding bikes more, use your local transit system to get around or even walk. Recycling aluminum cans, newspapers and plastics. For the ladies here that use aerosol hairspray, that’s a huge contributing factor in ozone depletion. Even planting more tree’s can help. There’s so much more we can all do to slow down global warming. Take a few minutes to read about it. :o)
HAY COMENTARIOS ARRIBA Q DICEN QUE ESTO ES UN MITO
ES LA VERDAD
EL CALENTAMIENTO GLOBAL EXISTE
NO SEAN BOBOS DE DESADMITIRLO POR MIEDO
PORQUE TIENEN QUE HACER ALGO
ESTOY HARTA DE LA GENTE TARADA
QUE PIENSA SOLO EN ELLA
YO HICE UN TRABAJO SOBRE ESTO
ES GRAVE
MUY GRAVE
ASI QUE LOS QUE DICEN QUE ES UN MITO
ESPERO QUE LES PASE LO QUE LE PASA
AL POBRE OSITOO
QUE SE AHOGUEN!
ME DA LA RE PENA EL OSO
PERO LA GENTE QUE ES EGOSITA
QUE TRAGUE UN HIELO!
BASTA DE ESO!!!
ESTA VERDAD ES INCOMODA PERO ES VERDAD
EL CALENTAMIENTO GLOBAL EXISTE
kdizz- are you ******* kidding me? First of all leave the bible out of this. Secondly, please show me the scientific proof that global warming is false. I mean I want to hear an ACTUAL scientist, not your president or your newspapers, say that global warming is false. If you got your head out of YOUR BUTT, and didn’t believe everything your government fed you, then you would know that there is NO DEBATE within the scientific community on whether or not global warming is real. It’s real, so deal with it. It has nothing to do with being a republican or democrat. It has to do with FACTS.
People want you to believe that global warming is a myth. There is alot of money tied up in business’s that contribute to climate change.
You should read ‘The Weather Makers’ by Tim Flannery if you want to educate yourself on the real facts. He argues both sides in an unbiased way but eventualy proves that world is indeed in crisis.
The photo is NOT photoshopped. You have to see Al Gore’s docu-movie, “An Inconvenient Truth”. The movie has it all in there about what is happening to the polar bears, because of global warming.
uh i hate global warming i want future generations to see polor bears i love them and im sure they will too
STOP GLOBAL WARMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SAVE THE POLAR BEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!
global warming isn’t true. its just some other stupid thing that the media wants you to believe in! How do we know that this isn’t some type of cycle or something that happens every somewhat years…personally i don’t even think this photos real!
a few years ago everyone was worried about another ice age coming but now its global warming! COMPLETE OPPOSITES.
Global warming effects the whole globe not just the US…and we seem to be the only country thats worrying about it.
And another thing Al Gore, your the one traveling in your private jet back and forth across this country, god knows how much pollution you alone cause, and you have the nerve to preach about how cars effect our enviornment.
Global warming…hah.
I hate this!!!! is horrible!
no puede ser que nosotros somos los quehacemos eso! quiciera que me ayuden a mejorar esto podríamo juntar firmas o nose… los que esten con migo y entiendan esto que lo traduzcan or favor….
contactenme mandenme un e-mail a hillaryduffa@yahoo.com
please help this animals! and more!
con el asunto
save the world!
Muchas gracias a los que leyeron esto!
y le pido que traduzca alguien esto por favor! es muy importante! mandenme alguna idea para que esto no siga sucediendo!
XoXo AgOsHtIiNiIiTa!!!
#107
We know this information because we have scientific evidence. Clearly, you are very misinformed on the topic or you would know that ‘global warming’ is not a cycle. I urge everyone to educate themselves about the facts (from sources other than the media which has often proved to be unreliable and skewed) before you make up your minds.
#107, if you had any idea at all, you would know that the media did not create this issue out of thin air and that scientific research on this topic has been in progress for decades. In fact, I think you have proven to be gullible yourself if you believe media reports about global warming being a myth. Furthermore, you seem to be living in a bubble if you think that the US is the only country that is concerned about this issue. I live in Australia and this was a major issue which affected peoples voting preferences in the federal election over the weekend. There are many organisations all over the world committed to combating global warming.
Educate yourself because your coming across as ignorant.
#107 “Global warming effects the whole globe not just the US…and we seem to be the only country thats worrying about it”
YES, yes, that must be the reason why the US is one of the few main polluters that DIDN’T sign the kyoto treaty. seriously, remove that head out of your bum before making ignorant remarks about the rest of the world you know nothing about.
you can deny global warming all you want, fact is climate is changing rapidly over the past few years. just now a raport came in by oxfarm that natural disasters occur 4 times as frequent then 20 years ago. from an avarage of 120 per year to 500 now. in 2005 14.000 people lost their lives due to weather related disasters. seems to be more to worry about than this one polarbear caught in an akward position. whether it’s because of CO2-emission or the cycles of the sun, you feet are gonna get wet either way and i just hope we are prepared.
living in a country mainly below sealevel, you can be damn straight that this is a serious problem taken seriously.
US and China are the only countries that are NOT concerned with global worming. They r the only developed countries that DIDN’T sign the Kyoto Protocol cos they don’t want to spent more money and harm their economy(even though US economy is already f*cked)to save the planet. well done states…
this just explains how totally ignorant
people have become. you’d say to yourself
that this picture’s photoshoped or that
polar bears are good swimmers and wtvr
but it’s happening and barely anyone cares
or barely anyone’s doing anything. it’s just
very ignorant how some of you guys just keep
telling yourself that this isn’t real..
and its disgusting how someone would find
this amusing, in the end it’s affecting you.
it may not mean anything to you at the moment
but it will soon, take my word. change your
attitude, and your actions.
and just HOW does ANY of you know whether or not it is photoshopped? That claim just flies out all the time and I wonder how many people really have any sort of evidence to back up their claims. I’m not going to say because I’ll never know for sure.
Yeah i agree with many, we´r all ingnorants about this, but even more ignorants & low educated are the ones who see this pics & still believe that it’s some kind of photoshop…wake up people this is the direct result of Global Warming, sadly the USA it’s one of the major countries in the planet who help to increase this GW problem & do no thing about it…like to sing the Kioto agreament mainly cuz your country earns to much $ to sign this agreament.
The photo hasn’t been photoshopped. What you see there is facts, my friends. However, I don’t believe global warming. I have my reasons and so does everyone else, but keep in mind that environmentalists jobs are to find things that are problems in the world and they have to blame someone or something. In this case, Al Gore is the hero and he is finally getting his dream - to make a cause and effect situation because he didn’t become president.
Global warming is a myth?
How much dumber can these people be?
Do you think we can just keep polluting the environment without any consequence? How much do you think the earth can take? Everything has a breaking point.
Everyone saying “Oh, I hope it got saved!”. Its not like that was its home and it actually waited there until all the ice around it melted… It was probably just a tiny little island and the polar bear hopped up and it all broke off. Even if that did happen, there’s obviously someone there, or a camera planted on a land mass taking the picture. There aren’t cameras floating in the middle of the arctic ocean…
reply to pea: there are cameras on board a ship. how do you think scientists/biologists study polar bears, by being on land all the time? have you read the other comments? i tell you, global warming is not a myth, it’s happening right now. if we don’t decrease our carbon dioxide output, not only would polar bears become extinct, eventually we will be extinct too because the ice caps would melt and lots of lands in low altitudes would be submerged in sea water.
isn’t it also sad that this totally newsworthy pic, about a phenomenon affecting the whole planet earth, got fewer comments than obviously worthless “articles” on zac efron and angelina jolie? phew!
That is just so sad. It’s awful that Polar Bears and other animals are suffering so much because we can’t be responsible and take care of our planet. It’s terrible
We are responsible in taking of our only home, the Earth. This is a very example of our carelessness and denial.
Eventhough I recycle, which makes me feel right, I still believe that my part is so little when I see people being selfish and careless everycay.
This is a very sad picture and sure heck…. it is f*cking a big deal.
that’s mean we are all in danger, if we are not going to do something, our kids kids kids kids future will be nothing. each of us needs to think or what do we need to do to support the planet earth. if we all do something like simple things; recycle, use less electricity,less water, less electric appliances, less cars and take a bus to work,eat healthy food like organic stuffs, turn off all the light switches after using,less use chemicals; like make up,deodorant, hair spray, body spray and use less electricity. don’t buy anything that you don’t really need. be nice to all living things with respect and don’t be selfish. respect every person, no matter what nationality he/she is and religion, everybody deserve respect.
i dont think its photoshopped. its gripping the ice in places where its melted around is feet and its hunched over the ice they match perfectly, i think its real ive seen video of polar bears like this its not like its that rare to find a pola
Older
187 Comments
Awww pobre ositooooooo **
poor bear! 1st!
Awww! Poor thing.
i mean 2nd! lol!
jared, global warming is a myth.
aww how sad!!
So sad =(
omg thats sooooooo sad:(
pobrecito………..
@kdizz now ur simply ignorant & plain stupid!
That is just so sad! Poor thing.
IS THIS FOR REAL?
OR PHOTOSHOPED?
CAUSE THIS IS THE SADDEST THING EVER.
that has to be one of the saddest things ever…
This picture allways breaks my heart–
OMG!
cooitado,
Poor bear.
omggggggggggggggggggg =( i feel so bad now
awww i wish i can save him
EXACTLY!!!!!
:[[ poor bear. i hope the person who took the pic helped… or something
how sad is that
what we are doing with our planeet!
Is Global Warming Killing the Polar Bears?
By JIM CARLTON
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
December 14, 2005
It may be the latest evidence of global warming: Polar bears are drowning.
Scientists for the first time have documented multiple deaths of polar bears off Alaska, where they likely drowned after swimming long distances in the ocean amid the melting of the Arctic ice shelf. The bears spend most of their time hunting and raising their young on ice floes.
In a quarter-century of aerial surveys of the Alaskan coastline before 2004, researchers from the U.S. Minerals Management Service said they typically spotted a lone polar bear swimming in the ocean far from ice about once every two years. Polar-bear drownings were so rare that they have never been documented in the surveys.
But in September 2004, when the polar ice cap had retreated a record 160 miles north of the northern coast of Alaska, researchers counted 10 polar bears swimming as far as 60 miles offshore. Polar bears can swim long distances but have evolved to mainly swim between sheets of ice, scientists say.
The researchers returned to the vicinity a few days after a fierce storm and found four dead bears floating in the water. “Extrapolation of survey data suggests that on the order of 40 bears may have been swimming and that many of those probably drowned as a result of rough seas caused by high winds,” the researchers say in a report set to be released today.
While the government researchers won’t speculate on why a climate change is taking place in the Arctic, environmentalists unconnected to the survey say U.S. policies emphasizing oil and gas development are exacerbating global warming, which is accelerating the melting of the ice. “For anyone who has wondered how global warming and reduced sea ice will affect polar bears, the answer is simple — they die,” said Richard Steiner, a marine-biology professor at the University of Alaska.
The environmental group Greenpeace began airing a 30-second commercial yesterday in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and other cities showing an animated adult polar bear and a cub on a cracking ice floe. The two bears, nowhere near land, slip underneath the water. “Polar bears may soon be extinct because of global warming,” the voice-over states. It ends with “Global Warming: It’s the Real Thing,” a takeoff of a Coca-Cola Co. commercial featuring polar bears.
Some experts say that climate change may indeed be shrinking the ice pack, but they dispute that emissions are the main culprit or that significantly cutting greenhouse gases would really make a difference. “Whether humans are responsible for some, most, or all of the current warming trend in the Arctic, there is no proposal on the table that would actually prevent continued warming or reverse present trends,” said Sterling Burnett, a senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis, a nongovernment organization based in Dallas. “The question is how to adapt to future changes in climate, regardless of the direction or the cause.”
In addition to documenting polar-bear deaths, the Minerals Management Service researchers, Chuck Monnett, Jeffrey Gleason and Lisa Rotterman, also found a striking shift in the bears’ habits. From 1979 to 1991, 87% of the bears spotted were found mostly on sea ice. From 1992 to 2004, the percentage dropped to 33%. Most of the remaining bears have been found either in the ocean or on beaches, congregating around carcasses of whales butchered by hunters. In the past, polar bears were rarely seen at such kill sites, because they spent their time hunting their favorite meal — seals — on sea ice.
Marine experts consider the findings — to be presented at a marine-mammal conference this week in San Diego — an ominous sign. Some have warned for years that a rapid thawing of the Arctic from global warming could endanger species like the polar bear. Already, a warmer Alaska over the past half-century has been linked to increased erosion of rivers and streams, insect infestations and the undermining of pipelines and roads as the permafrost thaws.
Alarmed by the swift changes, the Alaska Inter-Tribal Council, a consortium of the state’s tribes, earlier this month passed a resolution urging that the U.S. government enact a mandatory program to reduce global warming.
Some scientists predict polar bears could become extinct within the next century because they have adapted over the millennia to only hunting on ice. If they try to swim in disappearing ice conditions to catch seals, more are likely to tire and drown, scientists say. Polar bears that stay onshore aren’t adapted to hunting land animals like caribou, which are preyed upon by more-aggressive grizzly bears. Polar bears also require more fat intake than most food on land offers them, experts say.
“As the sea ice goes, that will direct to a very great extent what happens to polar bears,” said Steven Amstrup, a polar-bear specialist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Anchorage, Alaska.
Another study set to be released at the marine-mammal conference shows what might happen to the Alaskan polar bears over time. Researchers from the USGS, the University of Wyoming and the Canadian Wildlife Service found that the population of polar bears in Canada’s western Hudson Bay — near the southernmost habitat for the bears in the world — fell to 935 in 2004 from 1,194 in 1987, a 22% drop. Researchers said the decline — the first recorded for these bears — came in tandem with an extension by nearly a full month in the time it takes for Hudson Bay to ice over after the summer.
“Our findings may foreshadow how more northerly populations will respond to projected warming in the Arctic ecosystem,” wrote Mr. Amstrup, a co-author of the report.
Previous studies by the U.S. and Canadian governments support a link between the decline in sea ice in the Arctic and the ways polar bears try to adapt to their surroundings. For example, researchers say polar bears in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska and Canada used to spend most of their lives jumping from ice floe to ice floe in pursuit of seals. Only pregnant bears would occasionally wander onto the mainland, in search of a den.
But weekly aerial surveys by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service show that, over the past five years, an unusually large number of bears have congregated along the beaches. Between the coastal town of Barrow, Alaska and the Canadian border, about 300 miles east, researchers counted as many as 200 bears on land, said Scott Schliebe, director of the Fish and Wildlife’s polar-bear project. Many bears could be seen gathered around whale carcasses near villages like Kaktovik, which lies in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge where the Bush administration is pushing for drilling.
Scientists measured the distances from where the bears were gathered to the nearest ice sheets at sea and found this correlation: The farther the ice was from shore, the larger the number of bears were found on land.
Scientists estimate there are 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears world-wide, including about 2,000 that frequent the Beaufort Sea off Alaska. The latest population study by federal officials, in 1997, suggested the Alaskan bear population wasn’t endangered. An update is expected by the end of next year.
wow! people are so ignorant!
awwwwwwwwwww… poor bear!! where did u get that???
Polar Bears are very good swimmers and we can’t see what’s going on outside of this photo…there’s probably a whole load of land just off to the right. I’m sure it survived.
AAAAAAAAH TADINHO DO POOR
mmm, how about you stop driving so much instead of feeling bad for the bear? that could help him.
That is so sad! “Polar Bears are drowning” has haunted me for months. We must save their home!
I LOVE this photo ROTFL!!!!
this is just a bad photoshop job.
I hope whomever took that photo was able to help that polar bear make it to another iceberg without it having to swim hundreds of miles to get there. This is really heartbreaking.
I appreciate people who research wildlife, but it bothers me that they never interfere. At this point in the world the odds are so stacked against nature and wildlife survival that humans need to intervene. There is nothing wrong with saving the lives of an animals when we can We’ve taken so much from them, so isn’t it our moral duty.
photoshop now, but this can be reality…
aw thats so horrible
i swear todays politics need to realize that global warming is a very serious threat to todays society.
OMG
booo
makes me sad
god.. what are we doning to our planet…
omg calm down people, its photoshopped.
global warming is just marketing crap to stupid people.
sheep
poor bear.
anyways…slow day today jared?
omggg!
so sad
he need us peoplee!
what are you doing good 4ur planett? aa?
This is photoshopping for the right reasons. To show that is what is GOING to happen in the future if people look alive!
aww habibi its soo cute i feel so baddd=[
AWW I FEEL SOO BAD POOR BABYY =[
So Sad =(
So much.
i think its the same one that hit and sank the Explorer ship. f*cking polar bears and their icebergs.
Stop talking and do something about it!
people who says global warming is a myth just refuse to face the reality ..it’s worse than saying that we didn’t land on the moon. it is a FACT and it’s not DENIABLE !! wake up people…hundreds of bears are suffering and dying. poor bear. the most important is to know and admit that it is not a myth. because if we do so, it will happen the same as what happened on the titanic, the ochestra continued playing…see ya .xxooxx
omg that is so sad, i hope the photographer helped the polar bear.
think its trying to make a point that global warming will effect all the wildlife there, dont think its a proper picture for real tho.
i feel so bad for the poor thing that is not right
i am so sad!!!
its just not right to let them suffer like that omg that is so so so so sad!
we really have to do somethin. this is really happening now…I don’t care about if the pix is false…I mean it’s real. I saw videos and stuff. my uncle lives in groenland and it’s very sad. people just look at it and they say ” it’s so sad” but nothing’s happening. they have the right to survive!
OMG!!!
aww poor polar bear!
so sad!
Sad… In spite of being Photoshop, it is the reality, we needed change her
Awww… that is sooo sad… Poor polar bear!
all the animals on this earth are going to die one day because of human consumption…so sad….
please lets do sth to help that poor thing…….
awwwh
that’s so sad.. poor thing..
thanks for shining some light on this Jared..
all the exposure is appreciated of course
Pobresito el Oso..!! (n)
awwwwwwwwwwwwwww! i hate global warming. =(
awwww poor polar bear he looks so helpless.
im so sad =( =( =(
if this isn’t a photoshop work.. well, in this case, it’s so sad!!
BAd photoshop? come on people this picute is real. It won 2nd or 1st place in a worldwide prestgious best natur picture competition. the photographer is norwegian, and it has become rather famous.
alana;
you are an ignorant liberal. pull your head out of your fat butt.
global warming is scientifically and biblically proven to be false. 20 years from now no one will be talking about it, whoever started this whole myth is making alot of money..just like he planned on.
omg.
so freakin funny
but badd at the same time :/
22 Carline
thx for posting the article. it will truly be tragic if polar bears were to become extinct one day. thx jared for this picture.
Awwwww!
Is the picture real? Excuse, I didn’t know! Yes that is a serious problem, wake up!
WE HAVE TO STOP GLOBAL WARMING! NOOOOOOW!
It’s too sad.
it’s totally absurd!
gosh where we going?!?!?! =’/
I’m so afraid ’bout the future..pretty soon future -.-
we need anything 4 save the world
DAMN LOL
http://paidandpopular.blogspot.com
kdizz–
You said “global warming is scientifically and biblically proven to be false.”
When did the Bible become an accepted source for scientific research? Did I miss something?
And if perhaps somewhere in Matthew, it does say “Thou shalt not believe in global warming. Please drive SUVs”, scientifically, global warming is indeed a fact that I believe is rather undisputed by reputable scientists.
The animals are already suffering with the global warming. And the blame is not of them, is ours. So we need to do something!
Polar Bears can swim, but gloal warming is NOT A MYTH, wake up and see the facts. . .
If you want to save the polar bear adjust your lives so you emit less carbon into the atmosphere, but of course nobody wants to do that - everybody wants to drive their OWN cars instead of taking public transportation, everybody wants to be nicely warm and cool instead of having a moderate temperature, everybody throws everything in the garbage instead of recycling and dividing their recyclabes, everybody buys their 59th pair of shoes or jeans instead of donating their time (and possibly money) to a just cause. Bottom line: most people are lazy and living a convenient life, and history has shown us that something bad has to happen to get a ‘wake-up call.’ Whether you believe in global warming or not, we are living an extremely irresponsible life and you owe it to nobody else but yourself to change that.
i read that in 50 years, 75% of the polar bear population will be wiped off the face of the earth. i believe in this global warming thing, so what can we do to make sure it’s not too late already
oh my gosh, that’s terrible =(
All it takes is a little of our time and we can make a big difference. Riding bikes more, use your local transit system to get around or even walk. Recycling aluminum cans, newspapers and plastics. For the ladies here that use aerosol hairspray, that’s a huge contributing factor in ozone depletion. Even planting more tree’s can help. There’s so much more we can all do to slow down global warming. Take a few minutes to read about it. :o)
OMG! It’s all us humans fault. DARNIT! i feel so bad!
Poor polar bear. WHY DOESN’T IT JUST JUMP IN AND SWIM TO SHORE?! I do NOT belive global warming was caused by humans. It’s a natural occurance.
They can swim, you dumbasses!
this is like the saddest thing ever
but its a little funny
idk.
POORRRRR THINGGG i feel so sad for him..:(
HAY COMENTARIOS ARRIBA Q DICEN QUE ESTO ES UN MITO
ES LA VERDAD
EL CALENTAMIENTO GLOBAL EXISTE
NO SEAN BOBOS DE DESADMITIRLO POR MIEDO
PORQUE TIENEN QUE HACER ALGO
ESTOY HARTA DE LA GENTE TARADA
QUE PIENSA SOLO EN ELLA
YO HICE UN TRABAJO SOBRE ESTO
ES GRAVE
MUY GRAVE
ASI QUE LOS QUE DICEN QUE ES UN MITO
ESPERO QUE LES PASE LO QUE LE PASA
AL POBRE OSITOO
QUE SE AHOGUEN!
ME DA LA RE PENA EL OSO
PERO LA GENTE QUE ES EGOSITA
QUE TRAGUE UN HIELO!
BASTA DE ESO!!!
ESTA VERDAD ES INCOMODA PERO ES VERDAD
EL CALENTAMIENTO GLOBAL EXISTE
poor bear..but they can swim ryt?
kdizz- are you ******* kidding me? First of all leave the bible out of this. Secondly, please show me the scientific proof that global warming is false. I mean I want to hear an ACTUAL scientist, not your president or your newspapers, say that global warming is false. If you got your head out of YOUR BUTT, and didn’t believe everything your government fed you, then you would know that there is NO DEBATE within the scientific community on whether or not global warming is real. It’s real, so deal with it. It has nothing to do with being a republican or democrat. It has to do with FACTS.
Aww, Look, the hand of God is holding him up!!
He is so cute, and is posing for the picture. He wants to be a celebrity.
Thanks Jared, this polar bear has his 15 minutes of fame.:-)
its said how humans are ******* up this world.
kdizz
People want you to believe that global warming is a myth. There is alot of money tied up in business’s that contribute to climate change.
You should read ‘The Weather Makers’ by Tim Flannery if you want to educate yourself on the real facts. He argues both sides in an unbiased way but eventualy proves that world is indeed in crisis.
Omgosh.
It wasn’t maneuvered or messed with in any way?
That’s awful.
aww poor polar bear!
this is sad
OH HAI RANDOM MAN
okay im gonan stop usin hairspray for sure!
OMG, that’s so sad!! =(
sad
Aww
I hope he swam to safety. >
Omg poor beear!!!!!!!!!!!!!
its so sad..
yess the polar bearsss aaRe very good
swimers dont worrie peep
(:
let’s hope it is good photoshop. I’m sure the polar bear survived…someone is there taking a photo of it….and a polar bear can swim. Who knows?
OMG I Think I’m About To Cry!
Awww! poor little thing. yeah, i feel really, really, bad right now. =(
The photo is NOT photoshopped. You have to see Al Gore’s docu-movie, “An Inconvenient Truth”. The movie has it all in there about what is happening to the polar bears, because of global warming.
I hope he still alive.
uh i hate global warming i want future generations to see polor bears i love them and im sure they will too
STOP GLOBAL WARMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SAVE THE POLAR BEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!
My heart just broke.
global warming isn’t true. its just some other stupid thing that the media wants you to believe in! How do we know that this isn’t some type of cycle or something that happens every somewhat years…personally i don’t even think this photos real!
a few years ago everyone was worried about another ice age coming but now its global warming! COMPLETE OPPOSITES.
Global warming effects the whole globe not just the US…and we seem to be the only country thats worrying about it.
And another thing Al Gore, your the one traveling in your private jet back and forth across this country, god knows how much pollution you alone cause, and you have the nerve to preach about how cars effect our enviornment.
Global warming…hah.
I hate this!!!! is horrible!
no puede ser que nosotros somos los quehacemos eso! quiciera que me ayuden a mejorar esto podríamo juntar firmas o nose… los que esten con migo y entiendan esto que lo traduzcan or favor….
contactenme mandenme un e-mail a
hillaryduffa@yahoo.com
please help this animals! and more!
con el asunto
save the world!
Muchas gracias a los que leyeron esto!
y le pido que traduzca alguien esto por favor! es muy importante! mandenme alguna idea para que esto no siga sucediendo!
XoXo AgOsHtIiNiIiTa!!!
#107
We know this information because we have scientific evidence. Clearly, you are very misinformed on the topic or you would know that ‘global warming’ is not a cycle. I urge everyone to educate themselves about the facts (from sources other than the media which has often proved to be unreliable and skewed) before you make up your minds.
#107, if you had any idea at all, you would know that the media did not create this issue out of thin air and that scientific research on this topic has been in progress for decades. In fact, I think you have proven to be gullible yourself if you believe media reports about global warming being a myth. Furthermore, you seem to be living in a bubble if you think that the US is the only country that is concerned about this issue. I live in Australia and this was a major issue which affected peoples voting preferences in the federal election over the weekend. There are many organisations all over the world committed to combating global warming.
Educate yourself because your coming across as ignorant.
#107 “Global warming effects the whole globe not just the US…and we seem to be the only country thats worrying about it”
YES, yes, that must be the reason why the US is one of the few main polluters that DIDN’T sign the kyoto treaty. seriously, remove that head out of your bum before making ignorant remarks about the rest of the world you know nothing about.
you can deny global warming all you want, fact is climate is changing rapidly over the past few years. just now a raport came in by oxfarm that natural disasters occur 4 times as frequent then 20 years ago. from an avarage of 120 per year to 500 now. in 2005 14.000 people lost their lives due to weather related disasters. seems to be more to worry about than this one polarbear caught in an akward position. whether it’s because of CO2-emission or the cycles of the sun, you feet are gonna get wet either way and i just hope we are prepared.
living in a country mainly below sealevel, you can be damn straight that this is a serious problem taken seriously.
this is serious…. it isnt a reason to be joking around!
US and China are the only countries that are NOT concerned with global worming. They r the only developed countries that DIDN’T sign the Kyoto Protocol cos they don’t want to spent more money and harm their economy(even though US economy is already f*cked)to save the planet. well done states…
this just explains how totally ignorant
people have become. you’d say to yourself
that this picture’s photoshoped or that
polar bears are good swimmers and wtvr
but it’s happening and barely anyone cares
or barely anyone’s doing anything. it’s just
very ignorant how some of you guys just keep
telling yourself that this isn’t real..
and its disgusting how someone would find
this amusing, in the end it’s affecting you.
it may not mean anything to you at the moment
but it will soon, take my word. change your
attitude, and your actions.
sorry its US and Australia…
omg
People should pay more attention to this stuff! This is happening, RIGHT THIS SECOND!!!
thats so sad =[
and just HOW does ANY of you know whether or not it is photoshopped? That claim just flies out all the time and I wonder how many people really have any sort of evidence to back up their claims. I’m not going to say because I’ll never know for sure.
wow
i am impressed with number of people that said something
for the people who think this is photoshopped;
it’s reality.
stop denying the truth.
Yeah i agree with many, we´r all ingnorants about this, but even more ignorants & low educated are the ones who see this pics & still believe that it’s some kind of photoshop…wake up people this is the direct result of Global Warming, sadly the USA it’s one of the major countries in the planet who help to increase this GW problem & do no thing about it…like to sing the Kioto agreament mainly cuz your country earns to much $ to sign this agreament.
Really sad, sad, sad picture
PS:Trully sorry I was meaning sign* not sing…
The photo hasn’t been photoshopped. What you see there is facts, my friends. However, I don’t believe global warming. I have my reasons and so does everyone else, but keep in mind that environmentalists jobs are to find things that are problems in the world and they have to blame someone or something. In this case, Al Gore is the hero and he is finally getting his dream - to make a cause and effect situation because he didn’t become president.
Global warming is a myth?
How much dumber can these people be?
Do you think we can just keep polluting the environment without any consequence? How much do you think the earth can take? Everything has a breaking point.
that’s really really sad
someone pls save the bears PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this all thanks to those stupid people and their dumbass hummers, i hope yer ****** happy!!!!!!!!!!!!
I sure hope he got what he went out for on the ice or in the water. And here’s a link for Carline:
http://theviewsoftheallseeingeyeviews.blogspot.com/2007/11/another-call-for-open-mind.html
Poor bear.
I’m so sorry to you.
Human being have to be awakend. T-T
dude if you guys care that much about animals..
GO VEGAN!
like mee
Everyone saying “Oh, I hope it got saved!”. Its not like that was its home and it actually waited there until all the ice around it melted… It was probably just a tiny little island and the polar bear hopped up and it all broke off. Even if that did happen, there’s obviously someone there, or a camera planted on a land mass taking the picture. There aren’t cameras floating in the middle of the arctic ocean…
this is soooo sad! it makes me wanna cry!
reply to pea: there are cameras on board a ship. how do you think scientists/biologists study polar bears, by being on land all the time? have you read the other comments? i tell you, global warming is not a myth, it’s happening right now. if we don’t decrease our carbon dioxide output, not only would polar bears become extinct, eventually we will be extinct too because the ice caps would melt and lots of lands in low altitudes would be submerged in sea water.
isn’t it also sad that this totally newsworthy pic, about a phenomenon affecting the whole planet earth, got fewer comments than obviously worthless “articles” on zac efron and angelina jolie? phew!
That is just so sad. It’s awful that Polar Bears and other animals are suffering so much because we can’t be responsible and take care of our planet. It’s terrible
We are responsible in taking of our only home, the Earth. This is a very example of our carelessness and denial.
Eventhough I recycle, which makes me feel right, I still believe that my part is so little when I see people being selfish and careless everycay.
This is a very sad picture and sure heck…. it is f*cking a big deal.
awww…poor thing
Hahaha!
That’s hilarious!
aw NOOO!! thats so sad, makes me want to cry! ppl need to start seeing how serious global warming is, no one seems to care these days.
that’s mean we are all in danger, if we are not going to do something, our kids kids kids kids future will be nothing. each of us needs to think or what do we need to do to support the planet earth. if we all do something like simple things; recycle, use less electricity,less water, less electric appliances, less cars and take a bus to work,eat healthy food like organic stuffs, turn off all the light switches after using,less use chemicals; like make up,deodorant, hair spray, body spray and use less electricity. don’t buy anything that you don’t really need. be nice to all living things with respect and don’t be selfish. respect every person, no matter what nationality he/she is and religion, everybody deserve respect.
i dont think its photoshopped. its gripping the ice in places where its melted around is feet and its hunched over the ice they match perfectly, i think its real ive seen video of polar bears like this its not like its that rare to find a pola