Effect of climate change, polar bear at the risk of extinction

NI Wire

New Delhi

Thu, 15 May 2008: 

The danger of climate change has become very much evident in today’s fast changing equation, recently a report released by US National Oceanic and Observatory Administration said that the level of carbon dioxide in atmosphere is at its highest in 650,000 years while another report suggested that US scientists s put the polar bear under threatened species list.

The first report is based on the data collected by a premier atmospheric facility at Mauna Loa Observatory which says that the level of CO2 has reached to 387 parts per million (ppm) which is an increase of over 40% in almost 200 years since industrial revolution.

While Polar Bear is threatened because of the effect of climate change which has led to melting of the Arctic ice this in turn has led to shrinking of their habitat.

According to the report two thirds of the polar bear population could be disappeared by 2050, but the environmentalist fear that even the species have entered in threatened species list but not much can be done to save their habitat.

US Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne in a press conference said, “Because polar bears are vulnerable to this loss of habitat, they are, in my judgment, likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future - in this case 45 years.”

But he made it clear that Bush regime would not allow the protection of Polar bear at the cost of oil and gas drilling in Arctic and hence the list cannot be used as a tool to regulate greenhouse gases under a provision.

However, the environmentalist want to ensure that the Polar bear get the protection legally and want to halt the oil and gas drilling if it effect Polar bear's habitat. Reportedly, earlier in February the Bush administration sold drilling rights for oil and gas off the Alaskan coast which also support Polar bear.

Also the Polar bear has become the first species to be declared threatened because of global warming.

Both phenomena are interlinked, as receding ice in Arctic is a result of green house gases in atmosphere specially CO2 which has been increasing at an alarming rate. Measures has to be taken to protect earth habitats like Arctic and coastal area which also support many flora and fauna.