Climate Change Effects Polar Bears

Question

The claim made by earth.org creates a major statement for the readers to comprehend, "Polar bears rely on sea ice to hunt for food, however, with sea ice melting as a result of global warming, polar bears are more likely to go hungry due to lack of hunting ground availability." For centuries global warming has effected earth negatively and especially the animals in every environment. Since this topic gets talked about so often, it could be considered as a generalization, but it the greenhouse gases are effecting every polar bear that exists today in Svalbard, Norway, Canada, and Alaska.

Answer 1

This is true. The source of this claim is Earth.Org, an environmental news website with reliable information pertaining to the environment. The article claims that polar bears are negatively impacted by today's severe climate change, and that this could lead to their extinction.

The study that is cited in this article comes from Nature.com, another reliable environment information website. The main basis of this study is;

"Our model captures demographic trends observed during 1979–2016, showing that recruitment and survival impact thresholds may already have been exceeded in some subpopulations. It also suggests that, with high greenhouse gas emissions, steeply declining reproduction and survival will jeopardize the persistence of all but a few high-Arctic subpopulations by 2100."

Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-0818-9

This is also backed up by World Animal Protection, 

"According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Arctic is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world, causing sea ice to shrink by 13% per decade. This reduction in sea ice has a direct impact on the hunting and mating habits of polar bears, as they rely on the ice to reach their prey. When sea ice retreats in the summer months, polar bears are forced to swim long distances in search of food, resulting in energy loss and malnutrition. In some areas, polar bears are also seen scavenging for food in human settlements, increasing the risk of human-bear conflicts."

Link: https://www.worldanimalprotection.us/latest/blogs/how-climate-change-threatening-polar-bear-populations/

Answer 2

The claim is true. Polar bears need sea ice to travel, hunt seals, mate, and even rest. Without the ice, they can’t reach their main food source. The World Wildlife Fund explains that sea ice is super important for polar bears, and National Geographic says that when it melts, polar bears can’t hunt as successfully and can lose a lot of energy.

When the ice melts earlier in the year and freezes later, or when it’s thin and broken up, polar bears have to spend more time on land or swim longer distances. This means they have less time to hunt and get the fat they need to survive. The US Geological Survey says that in some areas, polar bears now spend up to 60–70 days on shore, compared to only about 20 days in the 1980s. This makes it harder for them to stay healthy, have cubs, and survive overall.

Some regions, like Svalbard in Norway, Canada, and Alaska, are especially affected by melting sea ice. Studies show that habitat loss is even hurting polar bear genetics and population diversity in areas like the Barents Sea. Overall, polar bears are struggling because their hunting grounds are disappearing, which makes it more likely for them to go hungry. This shows that climate change is seriously affecting Arctic animals in a real and measurable way.

Comments

Please include source links for all your fact-checks. Thanks!

Answer 3

This claim is true. Climate change is negatively effecting and threatening polar bears and their habitat. Human-caused climate change, such as burning fossil fuels for energy or transportation, deforestation, industrial processing and large scale agriculture, is only getting worse and worse. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, "these greenhouse gas emission have increased the greenhouse gas emissions and caused the earths surface temperature to rise. burning fossil fuels changes the climate more than any other human activity." 

Similarly, in an article from Polar Bears International, it is stated that sea ice is essential to polar bear for hunting, breeding, roaming, and even used to den sometimes. It is also mentioned in the article that due to human activity around contributing to human-caused climate change, the ice is melting, and it has already been seen that "in parts of the Arctic, longer ice-free seasons and longer lasting periods have led to a decline in some polar bear populations." Another website that talks about the connection between climate change and polar bears is World Wildlife Fund. They believe that the actions needed to help conserve these species include, "identifying and protecting the 'last ice areas,' the parts of the Arctic that are projected to retain sea ice farthest into the future. It is also important to increase monitoring of polar bear populations." These sources are both accurate and trustworthy as they are coming from either government issued articles or trustworthy organizations. 

Answer 4

This claim is true. Starting out with the source displayed in the claim, Earth.org, this source is very reliable, using logic and research to make a good claim as it talks about what this could be mean for the polar bears and the future of their habitat. While researching, another article I found comes from Environment.org, which is a similar site to Earth.org. However, Environment.org breaks down some factors of how climate change affects polar bears that may be overlooked, "The effects of climate change on polar bear populations are far-reaching and impact entire ecosystems and food chains". Two main points are brought up in this article: the loss of habitat and its correlation between melting ice and drowning polar cubs, and lack of prey, as seals (the main prey of polar bears) have fewer safe places to reproduce, leading to polar bears wiping out entire communities of seals easily with no way to reproduce the population. Another website, the World Wide Fund, or WWF states that the emissions of carbon produced by humans that lead to warmer climate and negative change are greatly impacting polar bears. This cite focuses on human contribution to climate change and the consequences that this means, with a report stating that if we do not change anything by 2100, polar bears could be incredibly rare and on the brink of extinction, "A recent study shows that by 2100 it is likely that there will be local extinctions of polar bears from some parts of the Arctic — even if we moderately reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. If we fail to reduce our emissions, by 2100 we may lose all but a few high-Arctic subpopulations in and around the Last Ice Area." This harrowing thought is something that is incredibly realistic if climate change is not taken seriously starting this moment. Both of these sources rely on logic as well as statics and facts to back up their claim that climate change is indeed affecting polar bears, incredibly rapidly that is. Both of these websites, Environment.org and the WWF are both non-profit organizations that are backed with credible scientific research and knowledge, meaning the potential of these websites being biased is low/none. When looking through all three articles, including the one provided by the creator of this post, the language used does not indicate any form of bias or extremities in favor of the left or the right. These three sources are here to state factual evidence of what they have found through science and climate/weather specialists. 

Not additionally asked by the creator but some ways that we can reduce our impacts on climate change and help save the planet is reducing our carbon footprint. A carbon footprint is the metaphorical "footprint" of the amount of carbon dioxide that we put out into the atmosphere every single day. Ways that we can reduce our individual output of carbon dioxide in the air is using public transportation, not buying fast fashion, unplugging energy sources when they are not in use, and using cold water when washing clothes!

Link to Environment.org:

How Are Polar Bears Affected By Climate Change? - Environment Co

Link to WWF:

Polar bear | Threats - WWF Arctic

Answer 5

This claim is based off of an article from Earth.org stating that melting sea ice caused by global warming is leaving polar bears hungry and is a threat to survival. This claim is supported by scientific evidence through multiple studies confirming that polar bears rely heavily on sea ice as a platform to hunt seals from, which are their main source of food. With sea ice melting fast and forming slowly because of global warming, the polar bears are forced to go without food for longer and travel farther for food. This leads to declining health condition and reproductive rates. The exact timeline of extinction possibly occurring for polar bears is uncertain but the overall link between sea ice loss and polar bear survival is strongly supported by primary and secondary sources found. Overall, this claim is true but may overemphasize for a sense of urgency. 

The first primary source I found was from Polar Bears International (https://polarbearsinternational.org/news-media/articles/new-study-quantifies-link-between-sea-ice-and-polar-bears) and it summarizes peer reviewed research that directly measured how sea ice availability affects polar bear body condition and survival. The study finds a clear correlation between earlier sea ice breakup and poorer health outcomes for polar bears. This is a primary source as it directly reports on original scientific research. This source is science-based but a conservation organization so it may have some bias as it emphasizes urgency of climate action and leans toward advocacy.

Secondary sources found are from the original claim (https://earth.org/polar-bears-to-become-extinct-by-2100/) and the WWF Arctic Programme (https://www.arcticwwf.org/wildlife/polar-bear/polar-bear-threats/). The WWF source provides an overview of the environmental and human threats that polar bears focusing on climate change. They explain that the shrinking of sea ice due to global warming directly endangers their ability to hunt, mate, and migrate. The article from the original claim is the basis for what is being fact-checked. It warns about the projected decline of polar bears populations due to current climate change trends. It draws on global warming projections and ecological models. These sources are also an advocacy group and a media outlet focused on sustainability so they both may overstate certainty of facts to emphasize urgency.

Answer 6

Yes, climate change is indeed effecting polar bears, in a negative and drastic way at that. I fact checked this claim by conducting research, specifically using an article by WWF Arctic, a programme that desires to help the lives of people and animals in the Arctic. The article states that climate change has destroyed the environment, habitat, and prohibits them to obtain food, all of which affect the way polar bears live. In the article it also says that by 2100 there will be a local extinction of polar bears in some areas of the Arctic due to climate change. Another article backing this claim of being true is by Carbon Brief, personifying the same effects as the prior.

Sources:

https://www.arcticwwf.org/wildlife/polar-bear/polar-bear-threats/

https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/polar-bears-climate-change-what-does-science-say/index.html