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Alaska could lose all it's Polar Bears because of Global Warming

Ever wonder about what the world will be like in 50 or 100 years? Imagine what cool new technological advances will come about or what our cars will look like?

Well, all those things are exciting but for one thing, we might not have any Polar Bears. Sounds weird right? I'm sure your thinking why would there be no polar bears or why do I care? Well, because of our way of life and our affect on the atmosphere.

The topic of Global Warming has been around for quite some time now, and we keep talking about ways to fix it. Apparently, we aren't doing a great job. And because of this, we are affecting species like the polar bears.

According to a study reported by The New York Times, the polar bear population will be wiped out by two- thirds of what it is right now by the year 2050 (www.nytimes.com). The estimated population of polar bears is around 22,000.

If you take away two-thirds of that, you will be left with only about 7,000. That means that 15,000 will disappear because of the melting of sea ice. They will be completed wiped out from Alaska, and will have to migrate to the Artic archipelago of Canada and parts of Greenland.

At the moment, scientists are trying to figure out whether to protect polar bears under the Endangered Species Act. Also, "the United Nations plans to devote its general assembly in the fall to global warming," (www.nytimes.com). You have to wonder though, if the polar bears are in danger of being extinct, so are so many other species that live in the same habitats.

Studies have also concluded that even in the event that for some reason, all major economies decide to stop emitting carbon dioxide, and other heat-trapping gases, the Artic ice cap will continue to shrink at a significant pace, wiping out the bears and their habitat within the next 50 years.

So what can you do about global warming? Well for one, the use of oil is very high in America as we know. If you are going to buy a car, buy one that is highly fuel efficient meaning that you get more miles for your gallon.

For every gallon of gasoline burned, 20 pounds of carbon dioxide are emitted into the atmosphere. If you put 10 gallons of gas into your car, you are letting out 200 pounds of carbon dioxide.

We all know that hybrid cars are being vigorously manufactured, and it's an excellent way of helping the environment. It might not be the nicest car out there but some people don't care what you drive so opt for the Hybrid.

Also, it's obvious that we need to keep up recycling, but most of us get lazy. Just think about all the things that will change because of actually following through with recycling. It might sound silly, but if even ten more people actually recycled everything they could, it would make a huge difference.

Even changing your light-bulbs makes a difference. Next time you change your bulb buy the energy savers. They are spiraled and go by CFL's, not watts.

If you want more ideas about how to try and save the environment and the polar bears, you can visit these websites, www.nrdc.org, the Natural Resources Defense Council or even www.time.com, where TIME magazine displays 51 ways to help global warming.

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