The article ‘Arctic development ‘a new menace to polar bears’’, written by an unknown author, from News.net, published on December 4, 2013, discusses how, in addition to the current climate change, oil exploration and sea traffic in the Arctic are disturbing the polar bears’ environment.
As Canada's Environment Minister, Leona Aglukkaq, said, ‘"Today we face new challenges with the ship traffic increase and the oil and gas development.”’
The added economic activities, along with global greenhouse gas emissions, are causing the Arctic ice to melt faster. This is a huge threat to polar bears, as ice covers are necessary in order for polar bears to hunt seals, which are their main food source. Habitat change, like loss of ice and permafrost, would also effect female bears’ maternity denning.
Some people, like Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, believe that we should develop in the Arctic. He tells students, ‘“We must develop (the Arctic).’”
Meanwhile, others, like general director of the World Wildlife Fund, Jim Leape, don’t agree. He says, ‘“We should not be allowing the development of oil and gas exploration in the Arctic.”’ He adds, ‘“There is no company in the world that has the technology to contain disasters.”’
This issue relates to what we studied during our ecology unit this year. As we learned, if one species becomes extinct, the species that was eaten by the extinct species will become overpopulated. If the polar bears were to become extinct, seals would become overpopulated. This would lead to many more problems. For example, there may not be enough of whatever the seals eat to feed the growing population.
It also has to do with what we learned about Global Warming during the Carbon Cycle unit. Just as we learned in class, this article describes how combustion of fossil fuels by humans leads to rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, eventually resulting in Global Warming.
This issue is definitely controversial. I believe they should not develop in the Arctic. They should try to push off the extinction of polar bears, not speed it up by increasing oil exploration and sea traffic.
I feel strongly that the Arctic should not be developed. The people who want to develop there seem to be only concerned on how it benefits themselves, not about how it will effect wildlife there, specifically polar bears.
Lily, I thought you did a great job summarizing this article. I have seen many other articles on the same topic of global warming and how it affects polar bears. However, what this article doesn’t stress is the impact global warming has on other animals in the arctic and how that will affect us. I also wanted to know why the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, wants to develop in the arctic and what he is putting into his reasons. Overall, this .was a very good post
ReplyDeleteGreat Job Lily! I really enjoyed reading your blog. I know that global warming is a huge problem in our world. I completely agree with you that the Arctic shouldn't be developed. I liked how you quoted two people with different perspectives on the idea of developing the arctic. I also think that your picture makes a huge point. Where are the polar bears supposed to go if we continue acting like we do. I think that your connection to our biology class was very strong, also! Great Job Lily!
ReplyDeleteNice job. I had no idea that oil exploration and sea traffic in the Arctic disturbing polar bears’ environment. I thought it was just climate change. Good job adding in that without the ice caps the polar bears can't hunt seals. Your article and post had great tie ins to what we learned in class. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteThe title was interesting, and the summary was very informational. I've heard about polar bears and that they were at risk because of development in the Arctic, but until reading this blog, I didn't realize how big of a problem oil exploration is for Arctic wildlife. Your quotes supported your opinion, and I fully agree that the Arctic shouldn't be developed.
ReplyDeleteLily, I thought this post was very interesting and easy to follow. You did a really great job of presenting the information in a way that was very informal and easy to understand. I had no idea that there are people who want to develop the Arctic and I completely agree with you that it definitely should not happen. Your connections to what we learned in class were great. For example when you explained how the extinction of one species effects the entire ecosystem. Overall, I thought this post was really great!
ReplyDeleteI thought your post was very well written, and very interesting to read. The topic of global warming seems to be everywhere, but I have not yet heard about people wanting to develop the Arctic. I agree that the Arctic should not be developed. Wouldn't developing that area just cause more problems for the environment? Overall really good job!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post completely, I think the only people that want to develop the Arctic only was only want to use it for themselves and for their own benefit. I also like the quote you had about no one can stop a disaster, which is completely true. For example, i cant really picture some one trying to prevent a volcanic eruption.
ReplyDeleteLily, I definitely agree with you when you said that the Arctic should not be developed. Global warming seems to be such a big issue lately. I think it's interesting to know that greenhouse gasses could potentially cause the Arctic to melt faster. I had no idea that could happen that way. I like how you tied the article into our ecology unit and how you said that the food for seals would diminish because of the over growing population. Overall, great job!
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with you that the people destroying the Arctic only care about themselves and not how they are affecting the animals. I also agree that they should try to save the polar bears and not drive them to extinction. I really liked your title. It lured me in and it was very thought provoking. The polar bears have been in danger for a while and I am very surprised that nothing has been done to help them. I had no idea there was oil exploration happening in the Arctic, so that surprised me. Overall great job Lily and by the way I loved your picture!
ReplyDeleteLily,
ReplyDeleteYour post was well written and you did a great job explaining this very important topic. I agree that this is a huge threat to the enviornment and the polar bear population as it has been for a while now. When you brought up the point that people only care about themselves and their money but not the polar bears, it reminded me of the Lorax and how greed caused the enviornment to be ruined. I liked that the topic you chose related to not one but two of the topics that we have studied so far in class, this post does a great job of emphasizing the harmful effects that people can create in the enviornment. Overall, great job Lily! i could tell that you cared about the topic that you wrote about.
Your title caught my eye, and made me want to read more along with your picture. I thought it was interesting that polar bears are not only becoming extinct because of high temperatures, but also because of the development of oil. Next I liked that you tied in what will soon happen to seals due to the amount of polar bears decreasing. Finally, I agree with your last sentence, that humans only want to develop the Artic for their benefits,and do not care about what will happen to the polar bears that live there. Overall, I enjoyed your post. Great job!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Your blog's image caught my eye. I found your blog post really interesting, because I really like polar bears. The though of polar bears becoming extinct because of an oil accident is unbearable. I though that showing quotes from both sides of the arguement was genius, athough I also agree with Leape that the cooperations should keep thier paws off of the arctic, and avoid developing the arctic. I also agree like how you used a article that included two of the major eco topics. Lastly I liked how you included that if the ice caps melted the polar bears would lose their food and their extection would be sealed. Overall, your post was the polar opposite of boring.
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