In some cruel twist of reality, climate change became a partisan issue. Republicans love to pretend that climate change isn’t real, but the evidence is hard to ignore. One stark example comes from the impact it’s had on the world’s polar bears. Their numbers have been on the decline and according to Polar Bears International the species is on track to be wiped out by 2100.
It’s a surprising estimation, but this footage from National Geographic really puts the imminent threat into perspective. They report:
When photographer Paul Nicklen and filmmakers from conservation group Sea Legacy arrived in the Baffin Islands, they came across a heartbreaking sight: a starving polar bear on its deathbed.
...
Video shows the polar bear clinging to life, its white hair limply covering its thin, bony frame. One of the bear's back legs drags behind it as it walks, likely due to muscle atrophy. Looking for food, the polar bear slowly rummages through a nearby trashcan used seasonally by Inuit fishers. It finds nothing and resignedly collapses back down onto the ground.
The folks at Nat Geo hopes this footage will properly highlight just how serious the threat of climate change is. Sea ice has been melting, making it more difficult for polar bears to feed and causing many of them to enter starvation.
Watch footage of the video by National Geographic below: