Fossil fuel or life? Polar bears today. The world’s children tomorrow?

A video of an emaciated polar bear on Baffin Island was recently shared on social media. Warmer temperatures have led to longer ice-free periods throughout the year in the Arctic, increasing the risk of starvation for the animals. (Photo: @mitrasites2016/Twitter)

Today’s post features excerpts from a Common Dreams staff writer, Julia Conley, who describes an award-winning video  of a polar bear starving to death. Global warming results in less ice, which means less availability of polar bears’ food.

Conley’s story and the video deserve attention because, frankly, the powerful oil industry magnates and the politicians in their pockets don’t give a damn about polar bears. They care only about profits and the power that money brings.

And face it, they also don’t give a damn about you or your children or your grandchildren, and certainly not the environment that sustains — or cannot sustain — life.

Julia Conley tells us:

“A video of a starving polar bear led to calls for climate change deniers to confront the real-world effects of global warming this week. Taken by a Canadian conservationist and photographer and posted to social media, the video offered a stark visual of the drastic impacts of climate change that have already begun taking root.

“‘When scientists say bears are going extinct, I want people to realize what it looks like. Bears are going to starve to death. This is what a starving bear looks like.’ (Paul Nicklen)

“On social media, viewers of Nicklen’s video called for political leaders like President Donald Trump, who has refused to take part in global efforts to minimize the warming of the earth by reducing carbon emissions, to reconsider their climate-wrecking actions.

We can all take part in those efforts before the earth becomes unable to sustain life at all. Remember, the oil magnates and the banking system and the  military-industrial complex has tons of money and power, but you have a voice and a vote. There are millions and millions more people like you, like us, than like them.

Conley’s article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.