The Nature of Global Climate Change

“Fish don’t lie” is a catchy clean water slogan that a local group called Friends of the Fox (as in Fox River) have on their t-shirts. Not only is it memorable, but it is true. Polluted water means fewer species of native fish can live there, plain and simple. To be convinced of the negative effects of dirty water, an individual doesn’t have to understand the details of the water chemistry or even the way that different pollutants affect specific species of fish. Just knowing that fish won’t or can’t live there is enough to convince most people that there is a direct link.

I would like to suggest that the Global Climate Change movement adapt the slogan to fit its cause. Something like “Polar Bears Don’t Lie” should work.

The science of global climate change is complex. Hundreds (or maybe thousands) of really smart scientists have concluded that the climate on Earth is changing at an alarming rate, and that the changes are largely a direct result of human industrialization. While some changes to the Earth’s climate are natural – the planet went through “warming” and “cooling” phases long before there were people – the changes are now dramatically sped-up because people do so many things that release carbon dioxide and methane at much higher rates than occurs naturally.

The facts and data are compelling – and should be cause for everyone to be personally concerned. But facts and figures can be hard to grasp for many of us. It’s much easier to point to that snowy day in mid-April and joke to a friend “so much for global warming!” while lamenting the dead daffodils.

That’s where the t-shirt idea comes in: Polar Bears Don’t Lie! The idea is to illustrate the very real effects of global climate change by focusing on an animal that most people hold dear. While an individual living in Woodstock, Illinois may not feel the effects of climate change on a day by day, or even year by year basis, the polar bears living in the Arctic Circle (up towards the North Pole), are definitely feeling the effects of the changes that are happening across the planet.

The polar bears’ home, the polar ice cap, is shrinking and breaking apart. The giant ice sheet covering the top of the planet is literally breaking apart due to very small increases in temperature in both the ocean currents and the atmosphere. These changes mean that there is less snow in some areas and warmer water in others, resulting in less ice formation, thinner ice sheets and more open water.

For the great white bears, the loss of ice means that they must swim much further than ever before to get from one ice floe to another. While polar bears are great swimmers, they cannot swim forever. Some polar bears die from exhaustion while trying to reach the next ice floe, because unbeknownst to them, the next ice floe is not there anymore. The next ice floe melted.

The issue of how and why the climate on the Earth is changing is very complex, and the facts and data can be overwhelming to absorb. But, polar bears don’t lie.
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So, what can an individual do to help the polar bears survive?

• Purchase a fuel-efficient car. Each gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
• Eat locally-grown food. Fresh produce travels an average of 1,500 miles from farm to plate, consuming a large amount of fuel in the process. Check the website www.localharvest.org to find information on local farms and farmer’s markets.
• Plant a tree. Trees provide shade and block wind. If placed properly, a tree will reduce home energy costs. One tree can remove 50 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.