About Blog Action Day
Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day. Our aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.

Climate Change – The Effects and How You Can Help
Growing up on a warm tropical island always left me fascinated with what lived in the exact opposite environment, Polar Bears! Below is a quick sketch I did today of a polar bear and cub.
I couldn’t help but think of these mystic animals during this years Blog Action Day topic. I was shocked when I came across some research stating that polar bears were in fact drowning! It’s quite saddening how we are each destroying this beautiful planet and the beautiful animals that occupy it along with us…
Polar bear deaths due to global warming are of increasing concern, and new studies speculate that Polar Bears may face possible extinction by 2050.
Scientists estimate that 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears live throughout the Northern Hemisphere in areas that are covered by sea ice for extensive periods. As of September 3, 2007, sea-ice extent in these areas had fallen to 1.70 million square miles (4.42 million square kilometers)—beating the previous record low of 2.05 million square miles (5.32 million square kilometers) set on September 21, 2005
The largest terrestrial carnivore on our planet is in danger of disappearing forever. Polar bears are facing greater trouble as the ice sheets they rely heavily for survival are melting. More than a fourth of the world’s polar bear population is in sharp decline and alarming evidence of the impact of global warming on polar bears continues to grow
As the ice sheets melt, valuable limited hunting grounds are reduced. Polar bears eat mostly seals and other fatty marine mammals and prefer to hunt from the ice that hangs over shallow continental shelf waters, which contain more prey than deeper waters offshore. But as the ice retreats farther from the shoreline, the bears may have less success with their hunts. In addition, as the sea ice melts sooner each summer, the bears will be forced to come ashore earlier and face food shortages before they have stored enough fat to last through the season. Scientist have found evidence of cannibalism among polar bears due to the reduced number of successful hunts and lack of adequate nutrition.
As their habitat disappears, polar bears have greater distances between them,threatening reproduction.
Even more disturbing, the rapid movement of sea ice in these regions may leave some bears stranded in food-poor areas, often requiring them to endeavour upon long and exhausting swims from food-rich areas back to ice. There are many accounts of Polar Bear, global warming deaths attributed to drowning due to the long exhausting swims.
One of the best ways to prevent the affects of global warming on polar bears is to stop (CO2) Carbon Dioxide emissions. Everyone can do their part to cut down on these terrible wastes and help save the planet. You can find ways to cut back on (CO2) Carbon Dioxide emissions from recycling and reusing products to using energy efficient appliances. The only way to see a halt in global warming is for everyone to make a change, no matter how small those changes may seem, because it adds up! It is everyone’s responsibility to do his or her part and give Polar Bears a chance.
Regards
References: The Wall Street Journal – Is Global Warming Killing The Polar Bears, National Geographic – Most Polar Bears Gone By 2050, Studies Say
Time is running out, and our planet can’t afford to wait. So take action! Please visit the WORLD WILDLIFE FUND to see how you can SAVE A POLAR BEAR! Also to determine how you can make a difference on a daily basis, please read these TEN SOLUTIONS TO CLIMATE CHANGE
Illustration by Chris Riddell, a political cartoonist at the Observer, London
