The piper changes his tune for Global Cooling
The whole premis on the decreasing Polar Bear populations is because global warming (caused by the man-made CO2 emissions and cow farts) is melting the ice and causing Polar Bears to drown.
After doing some research, the actual figures of population results vary significantly. I'm now convinced that the numbers can go either way -- you could say that the population is decreasing or increasing. The overall numbers vary between 15,000 and 30,000. A 50% contingency is not a very accurate number; so until more accurate statistics can be provided, we should take a moment to consider a few things.
For one, people do not generally move to the frozen parts on this earth. You don't see an insurgence of folk running to Antartica to settle down with their family, grilling steaks on their outdoor patio and working on cattle ranches. In fact, the warmer it is, generally, the more people you will find. People LIKE warmer weather. So what is my point here? My point is that there really aren't a lot of direct reasons why the polar bear population should decrease. As for the environment change, that is debatable and leans towards the side of, "ummm, not really."
Even if the ice has been melting, there is still a lot of ice to be seen, and some have reported no problems at all with the state of the ice or more than they had anticipated in 2004, which, by the way, the next dispatch they went on produced the photo by Amanda Byrd that has a lot of controversy wrapped up in it. For one, the photo credit was not given to the proper photographer in mainstream media and has since taken down the photo from their article. Not to mention it was taken in August 2004, which is a time known for melting ice around the edges of the cap. Read more about the facts behind this photo here and here.
Fact: Polar bears can swim great distances and normally do a lot of hunting for seals and sea lions in the water. Unless global warming has some how rendered the polar bears unable to swim, I don't see how droves of them could be drowning. And as a side note (playing the advocate): if global warming were true and happening right now, aren't these prime conditions to evolve and adapt?
However, I don't actually think that we're going to have to worry about the ice caps melting any time soon with the trend of cooling over the past nine years (1998 - 2007). I am actually more concerned about a global cooling than a global warming. More CO2 is a result of global warming. That is, when the earth heats up you have more growth - in animals and plants, which cause the CO2 levels to rise. The more animals and humans that produce CO2, the more plants soak it up and etc. In fact the very chart that Al Gore uses to "prove" CO2 emissions cause global warming actually shows how increased CO2 levels are a product of the increased temperature. For more information about this chart, check out this site. You'll have to scroll a bit, but it's a pretty informative site and a good read. If these sorts of things interest you, I recommend that you read the whole page.
My point is that a warm earth is a happy, productive, and vibrant earth. Look at the difference between summer and winter. The earth has been doing this warming and cooling bit regularly since we have records to show. If I were a betting woman, I would bet that after this period of cooling, a period of heating will start up again. I am not too concerned about the earth being damaged enough to sustain the way it has for thousands of years. That's not to say we should not be good stewards to what we have. I see nothing wrong with making strides to having more energy efficient things and new cheaper, renewable resources, however, I am concerned when it concerns the government making bills that are formed because (or FOR the research of) bad science that has a negative impact on our economy. I am concerned when scientists who have findings that don't line up with the "liberal" media's biased findings are mudslinged by the media for no reason, refused grants for research, fired, or excluded from journals. We live in America people, where we have a RIGHT to free speech.
I believe people should strive to not only improve the earth, but their own lives in the process. I have always had a mentality to reuse and re-purpose things to get the most value out of something, to make my own life better. It also has a lot to do with saving money, which is something that directly and immediately relates to my overall living conditions. Perhaps this is selfish, but I know a lot of people who have much, so they waste much. If everyone had this attitude about what they have, it would definitely have a global impact. Maybe less people would be driving SUVs.
I know some fringe groups out there believe humans are the problem, but I don't see any of them committing suicide -- which seems to me the logical way to have your convictions hold some integrity. At the end of the day, people are not going to put themselves out of extinction for the sake of the earth, so why even listen to people like that? For all you know, their deepest desire may be a global genocide where they can be the ones to "start over." I love how people like to say that I am the radical when the important people behind liberal ideas is far scarier and radical than I could ever be.
