Defenders' Experts
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - Alaska
Animals have adapted to this cold, stark, snowy place. Some, such as the polar bear, arctic fox and ptarmigan, mirror winter's white to blend in, some sleep the season away. Caribou and others in tune with the seasons migrate nearly 1,000 miles south in the winter to the far side of the Brooks Range. In the spring, the caribou herd follows the spreading wildflowers to the coastal plain. There they will find nourishing forage on the tundra and safety from predators of the foothills farther to the south.
The Threat
Over the past century, the average temperature in the arctic region has increased by 4 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit, well above the global average temperature change. Evidence of the rapid warming is everywhere. Sea ice is melting earlier, permafrost is thawing, and wildlife is migrating.
The polar bear, an animal completely dependent on sea ice, has been the most visible victim of the rapid change in climate. Sea ice is melting an average of three weeks earlier, well before bears have finished their spring hunt for ringed seals, their primary food source. Consequently, the bear's overall health has declined in the past 30 years, and the situation appears to be escalating. Recently there have been incidents of polar bears drowning and turning to cannibalism when stressed by hunger. Scientists have predicted that if current trends continue and the sea ice disappears for long periods, this grand animal could be extinct by the end of the century.
The polar bear is not alone. Arctic creatures great and small are responding to changes in the refuge landscape. Caribou are departing their wintering grounds a month earlier and still having trouble making it to the coastal plain in time for spring, when the most nutritious forage is available for their calves. Arctic foxes are facing increased competition from the red foxes that are moving north as the climate warms. If warming continues unabated, the melting of the permafrost and the transformation of much of the tundra into woodlands would dramatically affect the migratory birds that breed there and rely on tundra vegetation. That includes more than two-thirds of all geese and most sandpipers.
Proposals to drill for oil in the refuge further threaten this pristine place. Drilling would not only directly damage fragile habitat but would also ultimately contribute to the emissions that cause global warming.
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