Polar Bears Essay
explanatory Essay
1469 words
The GHGs simulate a blanket that covers the earth and keep the world warm. This protection is great for the mammals that have adapted and are comfortable being warm. Over the last couples hundred years, humans have seriously increases the level of GHGs of the world by one burning fossil fuels, oil and coal. This has rising the temperature in area the need to stay cold to support the cold weather animals. Other things are also causing the temperature to rise like deforestation. Cutting down an abundance of tree stop them from actually doing one of their jobs, this is soaking up some of the CO2. Trees remove carbon from the air and help clean the atmosphere. With the world warming up to higher temperature then it has ever has in the last 10,000 …show more content…
In this essay, the author
- Explains that humans have increased the level of ghgs of the world by burning fossil fuels, oil and coal, and deforestation, which is soaking up carbon from the air and cleaning the atmosphere.
- Explains that global warming is causing the melting of ice cap and having a tremendous effect on the polar bears life. the ward hunt ice shelf, which has been in the artic for 3,000 years, split in half.
- Explains that polar bears travel outside of their natural habitat to find food. sharks and killer whales are on the top of the list when it comes to danger.
- Explains that the kodiak brown bear and the polar bear are the largest carnivores in the biologically rich artic. the polar caps region has a huge impact on the world’s climate.
- Explains that melting ice caps are causing polar bears to consume food that they wouldn't normally eat.
In 2002 the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, which has been in the Artic for 3,000 years, split in half. (http://www.brighthub.com). The shelf keep braking into smaller pieces, which also serves as natural home to polar bears. If the shelf continues to break then the polar bears in the artic will eventually won’t have a habitat to live in. This is also affecting the food that they eat. Polar bears usually feed mainly on ringed and bearded seals and whales (http://seaworld.org). That depends on what location that they are in. A polar bear can take in about 20% of its own weight in food. This only occurs when its energy demands are high. What is interesting is that a polar bear needs to have an average of about 4 pounds of fat per day to obtain enough energy to survive (http://seaworld.org) this is why they usually look for ringed seal because they weight about 120 pounds and this could be enough to hold a polar bear for about eight days. Polar bears have an interesting tactic they stalk ringed seals at the birth lairs. The lairs for the ringed seal are in caves under the snow drifts next to a hole in the ice. Once the birth lair is identified the polar bear slowly position itself near it. Once the bear smells or hear a seal in the lair she break through the roof of it and tries to get to the seal. Sometimes this method is not a success because it take a few time to break through the top of the lair. This method is usually done be the female polar bear and most of the time the seal get anyway while the bear is trying to break through the roof (http://seaworld.org). Since the polar bear food is becoming scarce they have to travel outside of their natural habitat to find food. This is unusually for the polar bear to exhibits the sort of behavior. That’s why we are noticing polar bears in places that you wouldn’t normally see them. The journey for the Polar bear to find food is
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- Polar Bears Essayexplanatory essayIs a polar bear one of the eight species? A polar bear is a one of the eight species. “Scientists believe that the polar bear began over 200,000 years ago. They came from the brown bears ancestors.”
In this essay, the author
- Explains that polar bears originated over 200,000 years ago and are one of the world's largest world predictors.
- Explains that polar bears don't hibernate. they are evolved to live in cold climates, unlike brown, black, and grizzle.
- Explains that a polar bear's fur isn't white, but it is clear because each hollow hair reflects the light and traps the suns infrared heat.
- Explains that polar bears have to stay on land waiting for the fall cold to come again because the arctic ice has melted.
- Explains that polar bears live in the artic, in area where they can hunt seals for food. now there is a loss of ice, so they are having to swim longer distances.
- Explains that a polar bear can stave off cubs at age four or five. they are smaller than humans and weigh less than two pounds when they are first born.
- Explains that polar bears eat ringed seals, beluga whales and bowhead whale carcasses, birds' eggs, and vegetation. when they don't consume the fat, it generates heat to stop the freezing air and cold water.
838 wordsRead More - Ice Caps: Polar Bearsopinion essayAs the ice caps are melting “the species most vulnerable , those at the edges of their natural ranges, would be affected first, which is what is happening now” (Bily 95). Many artic mammals rely on the sea’s biological productivity and on the presence of sea ice. One certain species that is dependent on the ice caps are Polar bears. Which in Cynthia Biles book, she states” Polar bears need sea ice as a platform from which to hunt their primary prey, to make seasonal migrations between the sea ice and their terrestrial denning areas” (
In this essay, the author
- Opines that artic mammals rely on the sea's biological productivity and the presence of sea ice to hunt their primary prey.
- Explains that as the ice recedes further and further, it is getting harder for polar bears to find food that they need in able to feed their cubs.
183 wordsRead More - How Does Climate Warming Affect Polar Bearsopinion essayPolar bears are the largest of the bear species that live in the arctic region (Derocher & Stirling, 2012). Their habitat surrounds them with ice and water. Climate warming is an issue for all polar bears because they rely on sea ice to hunt for sea lions throughout the year to maintain energy (Derocher & Stirling, 2012). Polar bears hunt for sea lions to build up their energy for when sea lions aren’t available to them (Derocher & Stirling, 2012). If sea ice dissolves in the arctic area polar bears will start to disappear due to starvation. If predicted correctly, polar bears could stay in Northern Canadian arctic island and Northern Greenland but their population will decrease (Derocher & Stirling, 2012). Derocher and Sterling’s article about
In this essay, the author
- Explains that polar bears are the largest of the bear species that live in the arctic region. climate warming is an issue for them because they hunt for sea lions throughout the year to maintain energy.
- Explains that polar bears are affected by climate warming and ice melting, which leads to more hurricanes and heatwaves. humans need to save the earth.
- Explains that climate warming has put polar bears at great risk of dying of starvation, cannibalism, and drowning in the sea.
- Explains that female polar bears that live on packed ice and denned in northern alaska slowly decreased from 62% in 1985–1994 to 37% in 1998–2004.
- Opines that the article's credibility was unclear. the article had the department of biological sciences, university of alberta in the header.
- Explains that polar bears are affected by climate warming and ice melting, which leads to more hurricanes and heatwaves. humans need to save the earth.
- Concludes that stirling and derocher used rhetorical appeals in their article to inform the public about how polar bears are effected by the recent climate change.
880 wordsRead More - Global Warming In West Hudson Baycomparative essayAnnual ice buildup in additional to a healthy seal population is vital for polar bears to mate and maintain a healthy population within the Hudson Bay. The rise in global temperature in the past decade has led to a decline of lone (likely pregnant) adult female polar bears in the Western Hudson Bay from 1980 to 2004 (see figures above) (Stirling and Parkinson, 274). The average female between 6- 18 years old has “an average litter size of 1.7, a sex ratio at birth of 1:1, and an average reproductive interval of 3.1 years” shows the average female can give birth up to 4 bears in their life time (DeMaster and Stirling, 3). The decrease in average monthly ice extends correlates with the mean body mass of lone female polar bears in the West Hudson Bay region. The earlier breaking-up of arctic ice likely shortened polar bear’s seal hunting time in Hudson Bay because less time to hunt directly affects the size and weight of female bears. Cubs are also likely to receive less nutrition from malnourished mothers and decrease survival rate. The hunting period before summer are responsible for nearly 70% or more of the energy bears needed to survive throughout the year. The early break up is causing adult polar bears, especially, females have less body mass. Data of sea ice breakup has shown that the “average date of break-up” is
In this essay, the author
- Explains that melting ice and degrading habitat from global warming have altered polar bear life expectancy in the west hudson bay.
- Explains that the rise in global temperature in the past decade has led to a decline of lone (likely pregnant) adult female polar bears.
- Explains that lack of hunting habitats forces bears to scavenge in human settlements and strain human and bear relationships.
- Explains that polar bears are a huge tourist attraction in hudson bay. the viewing period from october to november draws in 6,000 tourists and 15 large tundra vehicles.
- Predicts that polar bears will lose a third of their habitat by 2100. the shift in seasonal ice pack in the west hudson bay has changed bear behavior, reduced prey availability, lowered birth rate, and decreased seal availability.
1430 wordsRead More - Humans Effect on Global Warmingexplanatory essayGlobal warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s surface (Mastrandrea n. pag.). According to scientists, humans are the main cause of global warming. Scientists say global carbon dioxide emissions should be cut in half over the next fifty years or the effects may be irreversible (Eilperin n. pag.). The two main activities that humans do to contribute to global warming are burning fossil fuels and clearing land. Most of the fossil fuels come from burning in automobiles, factories and electric power plants which provide energy for houses and office buildings (McClure n. pag.). Continued global warming can cause harm to plants and animals that live in the sea and force plants and animals on land to move to new habitats. It could also change weather patterns that cause flooding, drought and an increase in damaging storms. Global warming could melt the polar ice caps enough to raise the sea level, and in certain parts of the world human disease could spread and crops being harvested could decline (Mastrandea n. pag.).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the earth’s surface. scientists say global carbon dioxide emissions should be cut in half over the next fifty years.
- Explains that clearing the land contributes to an increase in carbon dioxide by decreasing the rate at which it is removed from the atmosphere during photosynthesis.
- Explains that global warming affects more of the earth, such as harming ocean life. high water temperatures can cause coral bleaching.
- Explains that the burning of coal, oil and natural gas is changing the configuration of the atmosphere and contributing to climate change.
- Explains that the global rising of the sea level is caused by two factors: run-off of water from melting land ice to the ocean and thermal expansion.
- Explains that with the impact of global warming's effects, agriculture becomes increasingly difficult. diseases and fungi will attack crops, lowering quality and production.
- Explains that climate change is the most noticeable effect of global warming and is already taking place and has been for many years.
- Opines that global warming could lead to a rise in human sickness and death. if rainfall and temperatures are right, rising temperatures could result in larger mosquito populations in higher elevation areas in the tropics, which could contribute to the spread of malaria.
- Explains that heat-trapping emissions outweigh any other current climate driver. scientific fingerprinting finds human activities as the main driver of global warming, but skeptics remain.
- Opines that there is no permanent way to stop global warming, other than to cut back the use of fossil energy. short-term help can be given by driving smaller vehicles, heating and cooling buildings more moderately, purchasing energy-efficient appliances and compact fluorescent light bulbs.
- Cites how to prevent global warming: an easy way to reduce your impact. ecomii - the credible, comprehensive resource for a healthier more sustainable lifestyle.
- Explains chanton, jeffery, and gorman, christine. "global warming & rising oceans (action bioscience).
- States that mastrandrea, michael d., and stephen h. schneider, "global warming." world book online reference center. mcclure, robert and lisa stiffler.
- Explains that climate change and global warming are global issues that affect us all.
- Explains the united nations environment program - world meteorological organization. "what human activities contribute to climate change?" 1997.
1206 wordsRead More - Cap and Tradeexplanatory essayThe major concern with GHG is the ability of GHG (like carbon dioxide, CO2) to absorb and trap heat while the pollutant is present in the atmosphere. It is believed by many the global temperature can be adversely affected if sufficient amounts of GHG emissions saturate the atmosphere. Most scientists agree the average temperature of the earth is rising. The earth has experienced many cycles of global warming and global cooling throughout its history. What is often debated is the amount of impact the pollutants from burning fossil fuels have on global warming. Most agree however, GHG should be regulated and reduced. One method touted as means for controlling GHG emissions is the cap-and-trade or carbon trading.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the population of man continues to dramatically increase around the world, placing the environment under distress and placing increasingly larger demands on natural resources.
- Explains the major concern with ghg is its ability to absorb and trap heat while the pollutant is present in the atmosphere. most scientists agree the average temperature of the earth is rising.
- Explains a cap-and-trade program for ghg, whereby an emission limit is placed on the amount of emissions released into the area. emission credits would be created and issued to match the cap.
- Explains that in the early 20th century, british economist arthur cecil pigou proposed holding polluting industries responsible for damage done by carbon emissions. in 1990, the clean air act became law and emissions trading became reality.
- Explains that the clean air act was enacted in the united states to reduce the amount of sulfur dioxide discharged into the environment.
- Describes the kyoto protocol as a cap-and-trade agreement by industrialized nations to reduce their emissions of ghg (including co2) by at least 5% below 1990 levels by 2012. the united states chose not to participate in this agreement.
- Explains that the cap-and-trade scheme is the most favored by the majority of the international community for the reduction of ghg emissions.
- Explains that the start-up cost of a cap-and-trade program may have the least amount of impact on company expenses and consumer prices when compared to other programs for the reduction of emissions.
- Explains that companies are monetarily rewarded for being successful at reducing their emissions. failure on the part of an entity to fall under its cap for emissions will result in it having to buy emission credits.
- Explains the advantages of a cap-and-trade scheme, such as its flexibility and less intrusion by government.
- Explains that the cap-and-trade scheme is the most effective scheme when incorporating various sectors of industry.
- Explains that cap-and-trade schemes are complex and difficult to design and manage due to the complexity of the schemes.
- Opines that participants in the cap-and-trade scheme will lose their desire to employ new measures to reduce their emissions if the price of the emission credit fluctuates too much.
- Explains that cap-and-trade schemes can be applied across a broad range of economic sectors and industries, but they are only effective in areas where emissions are accurately measured. animal agriculture contributes 18 percent of total ghg emissions.
- Explains the potential for excessively high transaction costs when compared to other schemes for reducing ghg emissions.
- Explains that a carbon trading scheme's dependence on public markets can be severely shaken by any unforeseen event. world turmoil and "acts of god" such as earthquakes and tsunamis can bring havoc on markets.
- Argues that cap-and-trade would limit the supply of fossil fuels, thus raising the cost of energy for consumers.
- Explains the drawbacks of the cap-and-trade scheme, such as the impact it may have on the job market.
- Opines that a cap-and-trade scheme on an international level would be too difficult to design and manage, especially if the scheme included all the members of the international community.
- Argues that the cap-and-trade scheme on national or local level may be an effective means of reducing ghg emissions if federal oversight was emplaced to ensure the integrity of the scheme.
- Cites carey, john, and conniff, richard. the political history of cap and trade.
2097 wordsRead More - Snow Cheese Research Paperexplanatory essayThe tiny town of Churchill, situated on a peninsula jutting into the Western Hudson Bay in Manitoba, Canada, has become the window through which scientists and tourists watched the seemingly hopeless decline of the polar bear. For years, the melt of sea ice in the summer has driven polar bears off of their normal habitat and onto land, where they have wander the empty tundra surrounding Churchill and occasionally stroll past borders of the town itself. As global temperatures rise, sea ice covers Hudson Bay for an increasingly short time, leaving bears with a smaller window to hunt seals and a longer time onshore with little to eat. Yet the bears have an unlikely ally in the Churchill tundra: the snow goose.
In this essay, the author
- Describes how the tiny town of churchill, situated on a peninsula jutting into the western hudson bay in manitoba, canada, has become the window through which scientists and tourists watched the seemingly hopeless decline of the polar bear.
- Explains that snow geese have been migrating to the churchill peninsula for centuries, but human development of old habitats has driven them in larger and larger amounts.
- Explains that polar bears consume more geese, eggs, berries, and caribou today than in years past, supplementing the fat stores gained from winter seal hunts with terrestrial food to survive the warming summers.
- Opines that the addition of snow geese to the polar bear's summer diet may provide a boon to hungry bears and help slow the damage done by.
- Opines that the increase of snow goose and caribou populations in the bears’ territory has provided a fortuitous opportunity for these hunters, but there is no evidence that these foods could provide the calories to sustain current populations.
- Explains that polar bears need floating ice in order to catch seals, and have had little success at capturing prey in open water. massive levels of melt in 2012 set a new all-time low
- Opines that polar bear populations will continue to remain in flux over the next few decades. the world wildlife fund predicts that there are approximately 20-25,000 bears remaining worldwide.
706 wordsRead More - Polar Bear Research Paperexplanatory essayIn the wild, they prey primarily on the ringed seal but polar bears will also consume whales, walrus, reindeer, sea birds, and vegetation (Lintzenich et al., 2006). Their dietary intake is seasonally dependent. AZA Bear TAG (2009) explains that polar bears use the sea ice as their hunting grounds and when that ice melts, polar bears can be restricted to land for up to 6 months. During this time they may be forced to fast or have very limited food intake. Their survival during this time is dependent on the fat stores they were able to build prior to the warmer season (Dyck & Morrin, 2011). Polar bears live a very active lifestyle so the consumption of high energy food is important. The most important nutrients that need to be included in their diet are protein, fat, carbohydrates (plant material), vitamins (Vitamin A, Vitamin B, etc.), minerals (Iron, Zinc, Copper, etc.), and water (Lintzenich et al.,
In this essay, the author
- Explains that polar bears are viewed as the black sheep of the bear family. their semiaquatic lifestyle sets them apart from all other bear species.
- Explains that the above diet shows how variable polar bear digestion can be. while a wild bear can easily survive on an almost exclusively carnivorous diet, in captivity the diet contains much more plant matter.
- Explains that the body composition of wild and captive polar bears has led scientists to believe that captive diets should include vitamin supplementation, but there has been no evidence to support this theory.
- Explains that the dietary requirements of polar bears vary depending on which stage of life it is in: newborn, juvenile, adult, pregnant/lactating, or geriatric.
- Explains that polar bears are the most carnivorous member of the bear family, as their diet is based primarily on the consumption of high fat seal blubber.
- Explains that polar bears consume the skin and blubber of seals to increase their protein consumption. pregnant or lactating females will be fed a higher calorie diet with an increased percentage of protein in their nutritionally complete dry diet.
- Explains that in the wild, many polar bears do not live long enough to reach the senior stage of their life. the greatest threat to their survival is starvation.
1201 wordsRead More - Polar Bears Research Paperexplanatory essayPolar bears have thick fur, huge paws and some other features that will make them well prepared for life in the harsh environment. In fact, they need sea ice for survival. Climate change is causing bigger and bigger area’s of the summer sea ice to melt. Experts say that there is hot weather patterns continue the Arctic could have no summer sea ice by 2050.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that polar bears live at the top of the world where it is a wintry wonderland.
- Explains that polar bears have thick fur, huge paws, and other features that will make them well prepared for life in harsh environments. climate change is causing bigger and bigger areas of summer sea ice to melt.
- Explains that global climate changes don't affect us, but it is seriously affecting our polar bears in the arctic. jeffrey bonner is trying to work with different zoo and aquarium officials across the country that way.
- Explains that polar bears hunt for seals through the opening in the ice to catch their prey.
- Explains that the sea ice forming later in the year and melting earlier makes it harder for the polar bears to hunt and eat.
- Explains that less sea ice and snow in the far north makes the planet warmer. steven amstrup is the chief scientist of polar bears international.
- Opines that we can do our part by saving resources by turning off lights and appliances, and saving energy in different ways.
474 wordsRead More - Evolution Of Polar Bearscomparative essayThe Arctic climate is covered with snow and ice. The temperatures are very cold. The Polar Bear’s coat has two layers of fur and a layer of blubber (thick fat) underneath. Polar Bears use their big front paws to paddle through the water and their oil coated fur helps keep them dry when they get out of the water. A Polar Bear spends months wandering across the frozen surface of the Arctic, looking for food. They eat walruses, birds, fish and seals. Sometimes a Polar Bear has to spend a lot of time in the water searching for food or swimming from place to place to find something to eat.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the polar bear's teeth are different from other bears, and its coat has two layers of fur and blubber underneath the fur.
- Asks students to think of as many differences between polar bears and other types of bears as they can. students should discuss the cold weather and difficulties finding food.
- Explains that students will be divided into small groups, given paper, crayons and markers, and assigned a different bear species to investigate.
- Explains that each group will research what the bear looks like, where it lives, and what its habitat is like. students should use the compare and contrast worksheet to record information.
- Explains that each student will make a bear poster and list four main pieces of information about what they learned about the bear. once the posters are finished, students will complete the compare and contrast worksheet.
- Asks students if they believe polar bears are more or less vulnerable than other kinds of bears to the results of climate change.
- Advises students to complete a "my opinion" page and use the information they learned about polar bears and information recorded on bear posters.
- Recommends that students complete the opinion page and share the information during a class discussion. ask students if they felt they should change their opinion after hearing others’ opinions.
760 wordsRead More