More Stress for Polar Bears
In the context of a warming climate, the impacts of oil and gas development in the Arctic Ocean could be devastating. Polar bears, for example, are already experiencing so much stress from shrinking ice sheets that the Bush administration has taken the rare step of proposing they be protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Drilling, seismic exploration, and transportation are likely to stress polar bears even further by disturbing feeding habits, causing female bears to abandon maternity dens, and disrupting the animals' lifecycles in a number of ways.
 Learn more about the effects of global warming on polar bears
Human Rights Violations
Global warming is causing human rights violations in the Arctic. As the thermometer soars twice as fast in the Arctic as elsewhere in the world, and when ice melts, coastlines erode, houses crumble, food becomes scarce, and people die. Global warming thus threatens the internationally recognized rights to life, personal security, health, housing, culture, food, and work.
Learn more about global warming and human rights |
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