Are polar bears and other Arctic wildlife really threatened by current and forecast warming?
Recent research shows that 8,000 years ago temperatures were several degrees higher in the Arctic that they are today with dramatic reduction in sea ice extent. Nevertheless, polar bears and other Arctic wildlife obviously adapted and survived and so are not likely threatened today. Leading polar bear expert and manager of wildlife resources for Nunavut, Mitchell Taylor, explains that, of the 13 populations of polar bears in Canada, nine, possibly 10 of them are either increasing or steady. Only two groups are declining due to climate change plus hunting, and one, possibly two, due to over-hunting. Past populations counts, while not particularly accurate in comparison with today’s census, indicate an overall rise in polar bear population over the past decade. In science, questioning is the norm and proponents of new hypotheses are expected to defend their point of view, not the skeptics. Not so in the public climate debate where those who question are labelled ‘deniers’ and expected to
