POLAR BEARS' ICE HABITAT THREATENED BY GLOBAL WARMING
BEAUFORT SEA, Alaska, 26 August 1997
Shrinking sea ice in the
Arctic due to rising temperatures will cause reductions in ice algae
crucial to the entire Arctic food chain: from fish to seals and polar
bears, scientists have told a Greenpeace expedition.
The Western Arctic is one of the fastest warming regions in the
world, warming at a rate of 0.75 degrees C per decade for the past
three decades, several times the average global rate. Norwegian
studies have found the area of the Arctic Ocean covered by sea ice
has declined 5.5 per cent since 1978. The Arctic is seen as an early
indicator of the impacts of global climate change, caused primarily by
the burning of oil, coal and gas.
Dr. Vera Alexander of the Fisheries and Ocean Science Department at
the University of Alaska, an expert on ice-edge ecology, has been
observing dramatic changes in temperature and ice-edge extent for the
past 20 years. Alexander stated that the continued decline of the sea
ice will affect the production of algae, which live beneath the ice,
and form the very base of the arctic food chain. "Without the ice
algae", Alexander noted, "there would be no possibility of a food
chain as we know it". The resulting impacts would ripple up the food
web affecting fish, seals, whales and polar bears.
World renowned polar bear biologist Jack Lentfer (retired, formerly
with the Marine Mammal Commission and US Fish and Wildlife Service)
also expressed concerns about the impacts of global warming. Noting
that bears give birth in snow dens, Lentfer stated that rising
temperatures and earlier spring melts could expose bear cubs too early
in their development to the harsh arctic environment.
Amidst the increasing signs of human-induced climate change, the oil
industry in the Alaskan Arctic is rapidly expanding towards the
Russian and Canadian borders, seeking to develop and open up several
major new oil fields.
"We can't afford to burn the oil we have already found," said Steve
Sawyer, Greenpeace Arctic Expedition leader. "Burning more than about
one quarter of the world's existing reserves of oil, coal and gas
risks causing catastrophic climate change. It's completely
irresponsible to spend billions exploring for more."
Lentfer has also predicted serious direct impacts for polar bears
resulting from Arco's off-shore oil development in the area of Camden
Bay, off the coast of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Lentfer
told Greenpeace the area has the highest number of polar bear dens in
Alaska. ARCO Oil plans exploratory drilling there in November, 1997.
In December nations of the world will meet in Kyoto, Japan to agree
on carbon dioxide emission limitations and reductions. Greenpeace is
calling for an end to all new oil exploration as a first step in the
necessary phase out of fossil fuels.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Steve Sawyer on board
the Arctic Sunrise: +872 130 2577
Paul Horsman in Anchorage +1 907 277 8234
Kalee Kreider in Washington, DC +1 202 319 2523 mobile +1 202 236 2579
Jon Walter Amsterdam +3120-523 6222