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Video Shows Starving Polar Bear on Iceless Land

news.nationalgeographic.com

21–30 of 82 posts

Re: Video Shows Starving Polar Bear on Iceless Land

#21
post #3

While it's sad that the bear died it's a bit of a jump to link it to global warming.

Yep, it's probably just old.

Which is not to doubt global warming and it's effect on polar bear populations. Just that this particular bear is not really evidence.

Re: Video Shows Starving Polar Bear on Iceless Land

#24
post #3

While it's sad that the bear died it's a bit of a jump to link it to global warming.

The article is mostly about global warming and contains a wealth of citations / references / relevant links. They provided their evidence as to why it's not a jump to link it to global warming -- where is your evidence that it is, in fact, a jump?

Well the argument in the article is "By telling the story of one polar bear, Nicklen hopes to convey a larger message about how a warming climate has deadly consequences." But that particular bear is probably old and sick and its problems likely not caused by warming such. I guess you can use it as an illustration of how you think warming may be bad.

Re: Video Shows Starving Polar Bear on Iceless Land

#25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article is mostly about global warming and contains a wealth of citations / references / relevant links. They provided their evidence as to why it's not a jump to link it to global warming -- where is your evidence that it is, in fact, a jump?

The polar bear situation really doesn't look like good evidence to me, they state the bear's lameness is assumed to be due to starvation-based atrophy but it seems as likely that this is just an injured bear that can't hunt effectively. I'm certainly not denying climate change is wiping out polar bears, just that this shows good evidence of that. The article states bears starve through summer until sea ice forms on w…

In the winter seals have to use holes in the ice to breath, which makes them very vulnerable. Without ice it is much more difficult for bears to catch them. http://www.athropolis.com/arctic-facts/fact-seal-breathing.h...

Re: Video Shows Starving Polar Bear on Iceless Land

#26

Meanwhile, we out here obsessing about making money on BTC...

There are folks who on purpose do not participate in BTC because they know the energy consumption is wrong. Go tell people about it and they might get it.

I don't participate in BTC because I find the whole thing hilarious.

Between it's inability to work as a payment method at scale (transactions per minute), exchanges running off with client bitcoins, exchanges getting broken into constantly and the shady way it's handled when that happens and on and on.

I'm not saying the idea is fundamentally useless (clearly) but the implementation is terrible.

I might be wrong and in 20 years I'll be getting paid in BTC but I'd bet that isn't the case.

Re: Video Shows Starving Polar Bear on Iceless Land

#27
post #12
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the richest and most powerful countries say "there is no climate change" and "others want to destroy our economy", then the answer is a pessimistic one. The same applies to countries that say "yes, there is a climate change and we must do something", but in the end avoid doing anything to unwind the death spiral.

Most rich countries acknowledge climate change and try to come up with solutions. The big outlier is the US.

> Most rich countries acknowledge climate change and try to come up with solutions. The big outlier is the US.

You could generalise that to:-

Most rich countries acknowledge and try to come up with solutions. The big outlier is the US.

Where is healthcare, corporate governance, lobbying, women's rights, racism, income equality, prison incarceration rates, police brutality.

Growing up in the UK in the 80's I was fascinated by America and planned on one day visiting if not living there.

Now? If I leave the UK (and I probably will) it'll likely be Germany or Holland, they aren't perfect (what is?) but they look a lot better than the US/UK these days.

Re: Video Shows Starving Polar Bear on Iceless Land

#28

Meanwhile, we out here obsessing about making money on BTC...

There are folks who on purpose do not participate in BTC because they know the energy consumption is wrong. Go tell people about it and they might get it.

And they make their snide observations from where? That's right, their computers. How much energy is spent consuming and deliving Facebook? Or iOS games?

Re: Video Shows Starving Polar Bear on Iceless Land

#29
post #18
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I am merely pointing out that one could produce a video of a starving polar bear both in our world and in the world where climate change is not happening, because wild animals starve all the time. Good thing most people already know we don't live in the world where climate change is not happening, so this doesn't need to act as proof of it happening, but rather as an individual example of what is happening all over…

Yes, this is probably effective propaganda, and moreover, propaganda for a just cause. Nonetheless it is not evidence for climate change, and moreover it is not even necessarily an example of the effects of climate change - even we 100% fix climate change, there will still be plenty of starving wild animals available for sad videos. The actual way to ensure there are no starving wild animals is to exterminate them in…

Has anyone in the linked article or in these comments tried to position this video as evidence of climate change? I don't see it if so.
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