Two-thirds of the world’s polar bears will disappear by 2050. The finding is part of a yearlong review by the United States Geological Survey of the effects of climate and ice changes on polar bears to help determine whether they should be protected under the Endangered Species Act.
The study goes on to say that the bears would disappear entirely from Alaska, pushing further north into the arctic where ice is around all year. “As the sea ice goes, so goes the polar bear,” said Steven Amstrup, lead biologist for the survey team. “Despite any mitigation of greenhouse gases, we’re going to see the same amount of energy in the system for 20, 30 or 40 years,” said Mark Myers, the survey director. AP/nytimes.com
The bottom line is that the damage has been done and where the erosion of ecological diversity ends can only be slowed or not further accelerated rather than stopped even if we could shut off the cause tomorrow.
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