Short (very) action diary again. (Hmmm, does this say something about my attention span?) Or maybe it's because I didn't trim my claws.
At any rate, we polar bears have a problem.
President Obama has proposed designating "more than 200,000 square miles of Arctic coastline and sea ice as critical habitat for polar bears." (Hooray, woo-hoo, etc.) But, Sec. Salazar told Shell Oil that it could start drilling in the Chukchi sea. (gnashing of teeth). If this goes through, Shell and all the other oil companies that bought leases under Bush will start moving in, right into our critical habitat. Geesh, what part of critical does the Department of the Interior not get?
So I'm hoping you'll take just 2 minutes to sign these comments, urging the administration to keep our home free of the many oil drilling platforms (and spills) sure to come. The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), one of the best organizations out there, is sponsoring this drive, and the text, which you can add to, will be recorded as official comments in this process.
If you want more information, as well as a link to Extreme Ice, a very entertaining, artistic look at the melting glaciers, go here:
Of Ice and Bears and Climate (I won't be there, it's an old diary, but the facts are current.)
We would greatly appreciate all the help we can get, because it looks like the powerful people of the world want to take over our home, and push us out. It's not only climate change that threatens, but oil drilling and shipping lanes, too.
Here's a teeny tiny graph of the sea ice from the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
For more on this, go to: arctic sea ice analysis
Here's my friend. We're bringing her a seal, so she might get better.
BTW, it's not just us polar bears that are upset, you should ask the whales, walruses and seals what they think. (You might want to avoid the walruses if you are into politeness.)
Lastly, here's the CBD entreaty and link:
As world leaders gather in Copenhagen to negotiate an international climate agreement, time is running out for polar bears. Forced to swim increasingly long distances between disappearing patches of sea ice in search of food, they are drowning and starving -- some even resorting to cannibalism.
The Arctic environment Ursus maritimus needs to survive is melting. Two-thirds of all polar bears -- including all bears in Alaska -- will be extinct by 2050 if current trends continue. The rest of the species will be gone by the end of the century.
While we need strong, immediate action in Copenhagen, we also can help save these great white bears by protecting their habitat.
In response to extensive political and legal pressure from the Center for Biological Diversity, the Obama administration has finally proposed designating more than 200,000 square miles of Arctic coastline and sea ice as critical habitat for the polar bear. But despite the proposal, earlier this month the Department of the Interior gave the go-ahead for Shell Oil to begin drilling in the Chukchi Sea, a move that opens the door for offshore oil and gas production in the Arctic.
The administration is seeking comments on its proposed critical habitat now. Please tell the Obama administration that the proposed critical habitat is essential to the survival of polar bears and that it must be protected.
This is the text of the comment:
I am writing to thank you for proposing to protect more than 200,000 square miles of Arctic coastline and sea ice as polar bear critical habitat. The polar bear is quickly losing the sea ice it depends on due to global warming. At the same time, the species faces increased threats from industrial oil and gas development in the Arctic. Please permanently protect polar bear critical habitat and prohibit oil and gas drilling projects there to give the iconic polar bear a fighting chance of survival.
Comment Form
We're not asking for money, we just want to keep whatever part of our
home
we can hang on to.
Thank you for your consideration.