Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


21

Warming Is Polar Bears' Top Killer, Host Nations Agree

US, Russia, Norway, Denmark and Canada sign joint statement on bear population

Share

(Newser) – Five nations whose land is home to polar bears signed a joint statement today declaring global warming to be the biggest threat to the animals, AFP reports. Canada, Denmark/Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the US agree that “long-term conservation of polar bears depends upon successful mitigation of climate change,” the statement said.

It is the first joint declaration on polar bears since 1973, in which the group endorsed bans on hunting the animals. The current statement is not legally binding, but is taken as a good sign ahead of multinational talks scheduled for December, where members will try to craft a new global agreement on climate change to replace the Kyoto protocol.

A polar bear mother and her two cubs in Wapusk National Park on the shore of Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba, are seen in this 2007 file photo.
A polar bear mother and her two cubs in Wapusk National Park on the shore of Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba, are seen in this 2007 file photo.   (The Canadian Press)
Ken Pedersen, expedition leader at the Norwegian Troll Research Station in Antarctica, briefs a group of visiting environment ministers and other international representatives, Feb. 23, 2009.
Ken Pedersen, expedition leader at the Norwegian Troll Research Station in Antarctica, briefs a group of visiting environment ministers and other international representatives, Feb. 23, 2009.   (AP Photo)
A male polar bear breaks the ice on top of the pond in the
A male polar bear breaks the ice on top of the pond in the "Bear Den," during a snow storm at the Bronx Zoo, Feb. 3, 2009.   (AP Photo)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
OFF THE GRID
11.20.09
The Health-Care Wars Have Just Begun
11.19.09
Sarah Palin Deserves Some More Attention
21 comments
VIEWING:
 
justathought
Mar 19, 09 5:33 PM CDT
And what are the bears going to do with a new global agreement? Such a massive problem, global climate change. Perhaps we should entertain a massive project such as direct intervention to save the bears--whatever it takes. Payback may be a bitch, but it's a good bitch. Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
0
Mad
Mar 19, 09 5:35 PM CDT
C'mon cons, stamp your feet and insist global warming is junk science Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
0
IN RESPONSE:
PaleRider
Mar 20, 09 8:04 AM CDT
There is no foot stomping and no one has to insist, it just is.
Vote up! Vote down!
0
Rob
Mar 19, 09 7:24 PM CDT
I'm not sure what you mean, just. But global warming is a serious threat and not just to polar bears. If it has to boil down to an economic argument, then the American breadbasket is going to move north and we will be begging for our bread from the Canadians. Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
0
IN RESPONSE:
woody66
Mar 19, 09 9:03 PM CDT
Or make Canada the next Iraq ?
Vote up! Vote down!
0

View all 21 comments »

LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

34 Stories

 Melting Ice Opens Arctic 
 to Trade, But US Lags 

Climate change opens north to shipping, tourism, resource development

Sep 6, 09 5:34 PM CDT
(Newser) - Climate change is melting away the main barrier to business in the Arctic—ice—but the US lags behind other countries seeking to exploit the region, the Anchorage Daily News reports. As receding ice opens the area to shipping, resource exploitation, and tourism, it's Russia and Canada who have established... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • Russia • Alaska • global warming • tourism • Canada • Arctic • Coast Guard • resources • shipping • Bering Strait • transport

 US Glaciers Shrinking Fast  


Aug 7, 09 7:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - Three major glaciers in Alaska and Washington state have rapidly shrunk over the last 50 years due to global warming—and the melting is accelerating as the climate changes, notes a government study released yesterday. The glaciers, chosen as "benchmarks" because their conditions closely parallel those of thousands of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • Alaska • global warming • Washington state • glacier • ice melt • United States Geological Survey

 Glaciers May Vanish 
 in 'Geologic Instant' 

Prehistoric glacier's rapid meltdown could happen again: researchers

Jun 22, 09 5:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - New data about a prehistoric Canadian glacier that rapidly vanished is giving scientists a stronger model to predict the radical effects of climate change. It's very possible that the same conditions could quickly shrink today's larger ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, prompting sea levels to soar in a "... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • global warming • study • Greenland • Antarctica • glacier • ice melt • Jakobshavn Glacier

34 Stories


Science & Health  •  US  •  World 
TwitterFollow @NewserScience on Twitter

 
climate change • Russia • global warming • Canada • Kyoto Protocol • Norway • Denmark • polar bear • ice melt

from our news partners

Associated PressAssociated Press