>> RUN THE CHEDDAR NEWS, IT
MIGHT BE A NATIONAL CAP THAT
YOU KNOW DAY TO DAY JOB THAT'S
ACTUALLY POLAR
BEAR WEEK.
>> EVERY YEAR THE ORGANIZATION
POLAR BEARS INTERNATIONAL
CELEBRATES
THE SPECIES AND AIMS TO RAISE
AWARENESS POLAR BEARS ARE ONE
OF THE ANIMALS MOST HEAVILY
IMPACTED BY
CLIMATE CHANGE WARMING SEE
TEMPS DESTROYS A LOT OF THE ICE
THAT POLAR BEARS
DEPEND ON.
>> SO JOINING US NOW LIVE FROM
CHURCHILL CANADA HABITAT FOR
THESE POLAR
BEARS DOCK HER AND HER TO RUSH
A BIOLOGY PROFESSOR AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA AND A
SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR TO POLAR
BEARS INTERNATIONAL A DOCTOR
GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE WITH US,
THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US
YOU'RE ACTUALLY OUT A TUNDRA
BUGGY ON THE SHORES OF HUDSON
BAY WHERE
POLAR BEARS ROLLER RIGHT NEXT
THE OUTSIDE. SO WHAT IS ABOUT
HIS IDEAL AREA FOR THESE BEARS
THAT MAKES IT SO IMPORTANT FOR
THEM.
>> WELL YOU KNOW RIGHT NOW
THE BEARS ARE SORT OF ON
HOLIDAY THIS IS NOT REALLY
WHERE
THEY WERE WANT TO BE IT'S WHERE
THEY HAVE TO BE BECAUSE THE ICE
AND HUDSON BAY HAS SAID
MONTHS AGO AND THE BEARS ARE
JUST FORCED ON SHORE AND SO
THEY'RE JUST GOING TO I'M HERE
AND THEY'RE WAITING FOR THE
BETA FREEZE AND THE
TEMPERATURES THIS AND CALLED IS
HITTING EASTERN US IS HITTING
US HERE AND THE ICE IS FORMING
YEAH SO THE BEARS ARE ACTUALLY
JUST WAITING TO GET OUT OF
HERE DAD. THIS IS THE AREA
RIGHT OUTSIDE WHERE WE ARE
RIGHT NOW IS WHERE THE ICE FORM
SOON TEST AND THIS IS WHERE THE
BEARS ARE WAITING TO GET OUT
THERE AND THEN YOU START
HUNTING SEALS AGAIN WHICH IS
HOW THEY MAKE THEIR LIVING UH
HUH.
>> AS CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTED
THIS SPECIES YOU JUST MENTIONED
OF COURSE THERE ON A BIT
HOLIDAY BECAUSE THEIR
NATURAL HABITAT BUT IN GENERAL,
HOW DOES CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT
THEM.
>> WELL THE EASIEST WAY TO
THINK CLIMATE CHANGE AND
WARMING IN THE ARCTIC IS THIS
JUST A HABITAT
>> ARMING LATER IN THE AUTUMN
AND SO WHAT WE'RE DOING IT IS
BASICALLY CUTTING INTO THEIR
HUNTING PERIOD AND FORCING THEM
TO GO ALONG.
PERIODS WITHOUT FOOD IN AND THE
BEARS USE UP A LOT OF ENERGY ON
LAND HERE THEY ARE USING UP
ABOUT 2 POUNDS OF BODY WEIGHT
PER DAY AND THESE BEARS HAVE
ALREADY BEEN ON SHORE FOR OVER
A 140 DAYS.
AND THEY COULD GO ANOTHER 20 OR
30 DAYS AND BE OK, BUT ONCE WE
GET BEYOND THAT AND SOME YEARS
WE'RE PUSHING THE LIMITS HERE.
AND WE'RE STARTING TO AFFECT
THE POPULATION.
>> I SO IS THERE HOPE FOR POLAR
BEARS IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WE
CAN DO TO HELP ON THIS.
>> WELL I THINK THERE IS I MEAN
IT DEPENDS ON OUR CARBON
FOOTPRINT AND WHAT SORTS OF
ACTIONS THAT WE TAKE GLOBALLY
IN
THE CAR IN THE YEARS TO REDUCE
GREENHOUSE GASES IN THE
ATMOSPHERE SO OUR BEST AL-SISI
THAT MANY POPULATIONS WILL
DISAPPEAR IN THE COMING
DECADES, BUT THERE'S ALSO A
VERY GOOD INDICATION THAT WE'RE
GOING TO KEEP POLAR BEARS
O 2, THE END OF THIS CENTURY AT
LEAST IN THE VERY THE HIGH
ARCTIC AND PARTS OF NORTHERN
GREENLAND SO THERE IS HOPE THAT
WE CAN GET THE ACT IN ORDER AND
THEN THE BEARS WOULD
EVENTUALLY REAP ALL EYES ONCE
THE PLANET STARTS TO STABILIZE
AND COOL AGAIN.
>> YOU GUYS ARE CELEBRATING
POLAR BEAR WEEK, WHAT IS THE
GOAL.
>> WELL IT'S IT'S REALLY ABOUT
AWARENESS IS TRYING TO
COMMUNICATE THE ISSUES WE
UNDERSTAND THERE CALL A G OF
ALL THERE'S WE UNDERSTAND A
THREAT TO POLAR BEARS.
I'M VERY WELL AND SO THIS IS
REALLY JUST AN INDICATOR
SPECIES AND IT'S GIVING US A
BIT OF A HEADS
UP THAT WE HAVE TIME TO ACT AND
IF WE
ACT NOW IT WOULD BE BETTER NOT
ONLY FOR POLAR BEARS BUT LOTS
OF OTHER ARCTIC SPECIES
AS WELL AND THE WAY I DO IT IS
IT REALLY MORE OF AN ISSUE FOR
HUMANITY AS A WHOLE BY
THE TIME. POLAR BEARS ARE
REALLY IN TROUBLE WE'RE GOING
TO BE DEALING WITH HUMANITARIAN
ISSUES MUCH MORE THAN WE'RE
GOING TO BE DEALING WITH TRYING
TO SAVE
POLAR BEARS.
>> WHY ARE POLAR BEARS A SO SO
IMPORTANT AND THEY'RE OBVIOUSLY
SO JUST MAJESTIC TO LOOK AT
TOKYO, BUT TELL US A BIT ABOUT
POLAR BEARS WHAT SHOULD WE KNOW
ABOUT THEM.
>> WELL IN ESSENCE, THEY'RE
THEY'RE WHAT WE CALL AND A SEA
ICE DEPENDENCE PCS AND IN THE
ARCTIC THERE'S
LOTS OF. MAMMALS THAT RELY ON
SO YOU THINK ABOUT NARWHALS AND
BELUGA WHALES AND WALRUS, ALL
THESE SPECIES RELY ON
THE PRI, DOZENS OF SEA ICE AND
SO IF YOU TAKE AWAY THAT SEA
ICE, YOU KNOW STILL A BIT
FUNCTIONING ECOSYSTEM. IT JUST
WON'T CONTAIN POLAR BEARS AND
SO THEY PLAY THIS UPPER.
FOOD WEB POSITION THEY EAT THE
SEALS AND OF COURSE IT'S A IT'S
PART OF A
FUNCTIONING ECOSYSTEM. WHAT
WE'RE SEEING IN THIS PART OF
THE ARCTIC THOUGH IS THAT AS A
SEA
ICE DISAPPEARS THERE IS IS A
NEW TOP DOG IN TOWN AND THAT'S
ACTUALLY THE KILLER AND THEY'RE
MOVING IN A IN CREASING LEE
RAPIDLY INTO THIS AREA. SO
WE'RE SEEING A SHIFT IN
THIS ECOSYSTEM. AND YOU KNOW
IT'S A VALUE JUDGMENT OF DO YOU
CARE ABOUT POLAR BEARS ARE NOT
AND I GLOBALLY IT'S ONE OF THE
SPECIES THAT PEOPLE REALLY
ATTACHED TO ONE OF THE TOP 10
SPECIES THAT PEOPLE AROUND THE
WORLD WANT TO SEE AND I THINK
IT BEHOOVES THIS GENERATION TO
REALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT
PROTECTING THEM.
>> I AGREE WHAT WAS IT ABOUT
POLAR BEARS THAT ATTRACTED YOU
TO WANT TO WORK IN THIS FIELD.
>> WELL YOU KNOW I GREW UP ON
THE WEST COAST,
A CAB. TEMPERED RAIN FOR SO
WASN'T LIKE I WAS DREAMING OF
POLAR BEARS AS A KID. I WAS
WE'RE
WORKING ON GRIZZLY BEARS AND
THE GUYS WORKING THIS AS EVER
THOUGHT ABOUT STARTING FOLDERS
I THOUGHT WELL NO, BUT THAT
SOUNDS KIND
OF COOL. I'M KATC'S ACCIDENTS.
ALL AND I TURNS OUT I'M PRETTY
GOOD AT IT. SO I'VE BEEN DOING
IT FOR 3 AND A HALF DECADES NOW
SO. MAYBE THAT'S ABOUT THE ONLY
THING I
♪
CAN DO.
>> THAT'S TOTALLY FINE WE'RE