Polar Bears invade Russian Town

​www.theguardian.com/environment/shortcuts/2019/feb/11/polar-bears-russian-apartment-block-climate-crisis

A small Russian town has declared a state of emergency after over 50 polar bears have wandered into town infiltrating housing areas, apartment buildings, and school yards. The authorities are unsure of what to do because it is illegal to hunt polar bears as they are classified as a protected species so precautionary measures have been put in place. School yards have had fences erected in an effort to keep the bears out and people are being shuttled to and from their jobs in military trucks. Previous attempts to scare the bears away like warning / alarm shots have been unsuccessful and residents are now reportedly scared to leave their houses.

As the article suggests, there is no other animal that suffers at the hands of global warming more than polar bears. As we know, the arctic is warming up significantly faster than the rest of the world which ultimately means the icy land these bears live on, hunt on, and survive on, are disappearing. This disruption in their lifestyle is altering their lives exponentially which in turn, alters ours. 

The article mentions that humans are everywhere and to say that the bears are endangering us is true, but the reason for that is what's truly important here. These bears that for hundreds of years have avoided human settlements are now wandering into towns looking for food, unafraid of us or our attempts to scare them off. Yes, this most definitely endangers human lives but as we know, the livelihood of the polar bears is at risk because of what we've done to their land. Our actions on this planet have undoubtedly caused these bears suffering and loss of habitat which pushes them to find new areas to hunt and live.

We know for a fact that there are parts of the world where humans are already feeling the effects of global warming. Whether you're a believer or not, hurricanes are getting stronger. Whether you believe it or not, weather patterns are changing. Whether you believe it or not, low lying villages in third world countries are subject to constant flooding because of rising sea water. Places like Venice Italy are speculated to be fully submerged in however many years at this alarming rate. The fact is, everyone and everything is suffering and will continue to unless we take some seriously drastic measures to start countering these ill effects.

The polar bear is the most widely recognized creature that has suffered at the hands of global warming. Pictures emerged last year of an emaciated polar bear supposedly looking for food, suffering from starvation. Now, there were reports the bear was actually sick but regardless, they depicted a grim scene. What we saw was a once thriving species dying off before our very eyes. All of their hunting ground is disappearing and they are left to rifle through garbage or find somewhere else to look for food. This won't stop either if the arctic continues to warm up at this rate, it will become worse and worse until they have completely disappeared. Habitat loss is among the top predecessors to an animal going extinct aside from poaching. 

What will they do about the bears? Well, what can they do? It is illegal to hunt them, expensive to relocate them, and we've kind of left them with absolutely no options. So, what can we do?

HAPPY VEG