Climate Change...

Polar bears are the world's largest land predator. Males range from 775 to 1500 pounds, while females maintain a svelte 330 to 550 zone. I read that they do scold their young for misbehaving with a slight scuff. They share their dinner and wag their tails when they want to play. They typically survive -40º weather for weeks at a time and swim over 60 miles in arctic water to feed upon seals lounging on floating sea ice. That is… on a good day.

The reality is their environment is literally melting away. This unnatural change means the polar bears can’t evolve quickly enough to survive without it. They are drowning while searching for sea ice. They are resorting to cannibalism as they fight from starving to death. Their malnourishment is causing low birth rates. They are sadly in serious danger of becoming extinct.

The plight of the polar bear is very real and should be our wake-up call.

Our climate is changing. And this is a REAL problem.





Your help is needed. Take action via International Blog Action Day 09…

Step 1. Sign the petition to address the U.S.A’s role with pollution
http://www.blogactionday.org/en/takeaction

Step 2. Get involved by following any of their dozen of links to educate, inform and promote knowledge.

Step 3. Pay attention to the UN Climate Change Conference (Dec 7 – Dec 18, 2009) http://en.cop15.dk





(This is a recycled posting from 2008 - knowing I'm not the only one who tears up with concern.)

Evolving Polar Bears...

Busy-busy! Living the life of a squirrel these days, staying as busy as possible, taking on more work than one can reasonably get done in a day. I'm storing up for the expected long, cold, grey winter daze ahead. So there is no new art to post here. None of my art that is...

 

But art is everywhere and always as a state of mind. With that said... the autumn winds are here, filled with political thoughts and the occasional protest.

Protesting may be passive or aggressive or passive-aggressive, or just go unfortunately unnoticed. Protesting can be written, impromptu, staged, huge or small. Protesting can also be a single solitary action. Just one lonely figure with a message can be art.

A friendly polar bear was hanging out across the street from last week's VP debate, held here in St. Louis. The art here lies in the fact many parents had some "expalining" to do...

This polar bear's simple message stood out in the middle of a recent rush hour traffic jam in Washington DC...

And this polar bear lives the indigent life of another homeless, out of work American as seen on the busy streets in DC, your town or mine... 

Seriously, the plight of the polar bear is horrible. They simply cannot evolve fast enough to compete with the changing environment. That is, evolve in a positive direction. Recent reports state they are resorting to cannibalism as they are literally starving as the reality of their world quickly disappears. Will the polar bears vanish from the face of Earth due to our changing environment - or because they've eaten each other? Leaving just one lonely polar bear, standing on a street corner somewhere with a sign. It's the cruelest of ironies.

Tears and Fears...

The polar bear is the world's largest land predator. Males range from 775 to 1500 pounds, while the females maintain a svelt 330 to 550 zone. I read that they do scold their young for misbehaving with a slight scuff. They share their dinner and wag their tails when they want to play. They typically survive -40º weather for weeks at a time and swim over 60 miles in arctic water to feed upon seals lounging on floating sea ice. They bury themselves in the frozen ground to sleep it off and when they do wander around their frozen wilderness they may be shot dead at any time by trophy hunters in hired helicopters. 

The sea ice is quickly melting away. The permafrost is disappearing. The petition to save the polar bears was introduced over three years ago. Three months ago, polar bears were finally listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. Last month the Governor of Alaska sued to revoke this judgment. Three weeks later she accepted the Republican's position of understudy to the most powerful position in our country. 

Coincidence? Afraid not. I smell oil... again.

(While I drew this i had to stop to wipe away my tears - which made me wonder why we never see the animals cry.)