Happy Feet not so happy anymore

"Global Warming" it seems like everybody's been hot topic nowadays. Everybody knows that because of global warming, the glaciers and ice sheets in the Arctic and Antarctic are melting. That would cause the sea levels to rise and flood major cities, but has anybody given a thought about the animals that live there?

I'm sure everybody's heard of the polar bears and how they are at risk of extinction because of global warming. In fact, in 2007 the the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Yet despite this the administrators states "that there is insufficient data to establish a causal connection between industrial facilities that release global warming pollution and the disappearance of Arctic sea ice." and will do nothing to protect the polar bear! It's unfair that greedy politicians refuse to protect an already fragile species from extinction because they don't want to spent extra money to lower the greenhouse gases emitted by factories and oil refinery plants and plans to add more in the heart of polar bear habitat. Polar bears are drowning because they can't swim the long distances between the disappearing ice sheets, while others are starving to death from lack of food! If that isn't a sign something is wrong, I don't know what is.




Another animal I want to talk about that doesn't get as much attention is Penguins. I'm sure most of you have seen Happy Feet. The movie addresses over-fishing in the Antarctic but it doesn't really address global warming. People think that because they're living so far away from the antarctic that they won't affect them. It is that kind of thinking that is currently causing global warming. Because of global warming the fish are forced to swim to cooler waters, causing the penguins to have to swim farther for food. Just a .47 degree Fahrenheit difference caused a 9% decrease in the King penguin's population. Not only are King penguins in danger but so are the other 16 species that live on or near the antarctic as well, including the Adélie penguin (best known as Ramon and the Amigos in Happy Feet).

18 species of penguin worldwide, 17 live in the Antarctic

Other species are in danger as well, such as moose, salmon, trout, birds, walrus, etc. Basically all animals (including us) are in danger of extinction because of global warming but those in the arctic and antarctic are at greater risk because of their rapidly changing environment. If we don't do something soon, future generations may not be able to see what a real polar bear or penguin will look like outside of a zoo or museum.

Just some of the animals living in the Arctic and Antarctic