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Rapid loss of sea ice is leading a plummeting polar bear population. Why should we care?<\/p>\n
1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Polar Bears are at the top of the artic food chain.\u00a0 If they become extinct then the food web will alter drastically.\u00a0 Certain species, free of competition for food and\/or no longer with a main predator, will flourish. \u00a0However, the environment, as a whole, will suffer.\u00a0 Anthony Ives, a zoologist from the University of Wisconsin, has shown through experimentation<\/a> that, in general, when a species becomes extinct, the community\u2019s ability to tolerate environmental degradation lessens.<\/p>\n 2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So, the extinction of polar bears would prove bad for the overall artic biosphere.\u00a0 Unfortunately, scientists estimate only 20,000 to 25,000 bears are currently living<\/a>.\u00a0 That number is expected to shrink to as low as 6,500 by 2050.<\/p>\n 3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And most importantly, polar bears are not only adorable but they manufacture 30% of the entire world\u2019s supply of Coca-Cola.<\/a><\/p>\n Leading scientists hope that if <\/em>the melting of sea ice is slowed significantly then the polar bear population will stabilize and even start to increase.\u00a0 Unfortunately, slowing the melting of sea ice will require drastic measures.<\/p>\n Comment! What can be done to stop the melting of sea ice? How will dying polar bears affect the artic ecosystem? How much more efficient would polar bears be at manufacturing Coca-Cola products if they had opposable thumbs?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Rapid loss of sea ice is leading a plummeting polar bear population. Why should we care? 1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Polar Bears are at the top of the artic food chain.\u00a0 If they become extinct then the food web will alter drastically.\u00a0 Certain … Continue reading