Polar Bears Scavenging for Garbage: A Tragic Consequence of Climate Change and Human Activity

Polar Bears Scavenging for Garbage: A Tragic Consequence of Climate Change and Human Activity

 

The once-abundant polar bears are foraging garbage dump for food, as (is) illustrated in the two pictures of the article. At first glance, this appalling scene seems to alert the public to the danger lurking behind their communities. However, the unusual phenomenon also prompts us to think about a question about why these ferocious carnivores are being reduced to scavengers. From my perspective, the plight of polar bears is attributed to climate change and human activity, but solutions are available to manage this situation.

Climate change is the biggest culprit behind the difficulties polar bears are facing. Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities and livestock production are pushing global warming across the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold whereas the rising temperature is causing more glaciers and ice sheets to melt at an unprecedented rate. With a huge stretch of sea ice sheets shrinking dramatically, polar bears are losing the habitats which serve as a platform for travelling, hunting, breeding and feeding. The disappearance of the sea-ice platform not only threatens the bears with food shortages but also leads to rapid declines in reproduction and survival. Even more distressing, though, is the tragic death caused by the loss of sea ice. Though polar bears are excellent swimmers with impressive endurance, they cannot paddle in turbulent oceans indefinitely. Yet, there has been evidence that polar bears are driven to swim in rough seas before they succumb to fatigue and drown in frigid waters.

Aside from climate change, human activity is to blame for the hard life of polar bears. Problems arise as a growing number of people are migrating towards the vicinity of the Arctic Circle. For example, carbon footprints and human-caused pollution accelerate global warming, which in turn poses a threat to the bears’ survival. Unfortunately, this problem will persist given that the human population is expected to jump by over 40 percent by 2043. The second problem is human garbage which has become a dangerous source of food for polar bears. As the bears are scavenging for food at a waste dump, they cannot distinguish food from toxic waste, thus ingesting non-biodegradable items such as plastic bags, straws, cutlery, polystyrene trays and Styrofoam boxes. Some died of suffocation. Others got poisoned. And still others suffered excruciating pain caused by intestinal obstruction. What’s worse, the conflicts between humans and polar bears might inevitably intensify. Polar bears are shot by residents because these aggressive animals are perceived as a menace to human safety and property.

Given the precarious situations polar bears are encountering, it is high time we took measures to save these critically endangered animals. To start with, every one of us should do their part to combat climate change. We can use energy-efficient appliances and choose electric vehicles over gas-powered ones in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius. Besides, if we live adjacent to the living areas of polar bears, we must set up adequate disposal facilities for our garbage just in case the bears mistake the waste for food. Most importantly, our government is accountable for educating the public about the conservation of polar bears. It is humans not polar bears that intrude upon wilderness areas in the neighborhood of the Arctic Circles. Therefore, we cannot shoot the bears under the pretext of self-defense.

         In conclusion, the hardship inflicted upon polar bears is an urgent problem that requires our attention nowadays. There is no single cause of this problem, but climate change and human activity are the two main contributors to the dwindling population of polar bears. Owing to our selfishness and avarice, we have done irreversible damage to the largest carnivorous land mammals on the Earth. With our concerted efforts to protect our environment, however, it is still possible to see the stocky bears tramping across the sea ice sheets on which they stalk their prey and care for their young.