Down to Earth Blog

Polar Bear Cannibals: A new study shows that polar bears may be eating each other because long seaons without ice have kept many bears from hunting seals, their primary food. The bears use sea ice for feeding, mating and giving birth. This could be evidence of how global warming is affecting polar bears.

Things don't look good for polar bears. Last year a study showed that polar bears are drowning because they had to swim farther to find food -- up to 60 miles for a meal. That might make you change your diet, too. Hungry bears are also drawn to human settlements and trash dumps, looking for food.

Scientist predict a 30 percent decline in polar bear numbers over the next 35 to 50 years. Some say the bears could be extinct in 100 years.

Good News: Bush Creates Largest Marine Reserve: This week President Bush declared the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a national monument, giving it immediate federal protection. This will be the world's largest marine reserve, some 1,400 miles long and 100 miles wide.  It's home to more than 7,000 species, at least one-fourth of them found nowhere else.

Bush said he was inspired to protect the area after seeing a PBS documentary about the islands by Jean-Michel Cousteau, 'Ocean Adventures: Voyage to Kure.' PBS will be re-broadcasting it soon.

|  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this