Ponds on the Ocean – Arctic Ice
Image courtesy of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
via Wikimedia Commons
Greenpeace recently launched Save The Arctic, a campaign to protect the region from oil drilling, industrial fishing and conflict by declaring it a sanctuary.
Now they’ve released a video featuring the voice of Jude Law, and the music of Radiohead.
The video below shows a depressed, homeless polar bear rummaging through garbage as it roams the streets of London and concludes with Jude Law asking the viewer to Save the Arctic.
The Arctic is thought to hold roughly one fourth of the world’s remaining energy resources.
Here are three reasons why it should be protected:
1. In 2012, Arctic sea ice has melted faster than any other year on record.
Scientists cite climate change as cause of this record melt. Man-made greenhouse gasses, many of which are created by lifestyles dependent on consumption of oil and other fossil fuels, significantly contribute to climate change. Perhaps we should change focus and invest in alternative energies, and developing more efficient vehicles and appliances, instead of upholding a status quo that produces more pollution and leads to climate change.
2. An Arctic oil spill would be more devastating than any previous spill.
Unlike the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, Arctic cleanup crews would have to deal with ice and freezing temperatures. The logistics of an Arctic spill clean up would also be complicated by the vast distance from the Arctic to any population centers from which cleanup operations could be launched.
3. Polar bears are disappearing as their habitat melts away.
Polar bears live in the fragile Arctic ecosystem, and are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. A status of Vulnerable is just one step away from Endangered. The IUCN predicts that the polar bear population will decline by 30-50% in the next 45 years.
Visit Save The Arctic to see what you can do to save the polar bears, protect this pristine ecosystem, and prevent another ecological disaster.
Read More:
Greenpeace ‘Save The Arctic’ Video Features Radiohead And Jude Law
The Arctic: ‘The Wild Places Are Where We Began’
–George Stevens