Polar Bears: Left Out in the Cold
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a marine mammal that lives off of the other marine mammals inhabiting the artic ice pack, and the surrounding ice flows and ocean. The polar bear is thus an excellent swimmer. The artic ice pack, home of the polar bear, is disappearing. The vulnerability and mortal risks faced by polar bears are increasing.
The polar bear, beloved by many, has become the martyr employed by governments and NGOs to symbolize the fight against global warming. It has become a fundraising symbol and a top-model.
Polar Bears: Left Out in the Cold
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a marine mammal that lives off of the other marine mammals inhabiting the artic ice pack, and the surrounding ice flows and ocean. The polar bear is thus an excellent swimmer. The artic ice pack, home of the polar bear, is disappearing. The vulnerability and mortal risks faced by polar bears are increasing.
The polar bear, beloved by many, has become the martyr employed by governments and NGOs to symbolize the fight against global warming. It has become a fundraising symbol and a top-model.
Life jacket for the French Ambassador in the Arctic
Once more, he could not say no to the invitation of a ship owner with a polar cruise. Michel Rocard, French ambassador for the Arctic and Antarctic poles embarks September 4th from Iqaluit in the Canadian arctic for eleven days aboard the Boréal.
This voyage is not without risks for the passengers and the environment. A year ago exactly, in the same waters, the Clipper Adventurer ran aground on a reef. The 197 passengers and crew members had to wait forty-eight hours on the ship, in distress, before beginning to be evacuated. Means of assistance and salvage from Canada like other coastal states of the icy Arctic Ocean are inadequate. The ship owner sued the Canadian government for mistakes in the mapping surveys. Today, only ten percent of the Arctic Ocean is correctly charted.
Life jacket for the French Ambassador in the Arctic
Once more, he could not say no to the invitation of a ship owner with a polar cruise. Michel Rocard, French ambassador for the Arctic and Antarctic poles embarks September 4th from Iqaluit in the Canadian arctic for eleven days aboard the Boréal.
This voyage is not without risks for the passengers and the environment. A year ago exactly, in the same waters, the Clipper Adventurer ran aground on a reef. The 197 passengers and crew members had to wait forty-eight hours on the ship, in distress, before beginning to be evacuated. Means of assistance and salvage from Canada like other coastal states of the icy Arctic Ocean are inadequate. The ship owner sued the Canadian government for mistakes in the mapping surveys. Today, only ten percent of the Arctic Ocean is correctly charted.
There is movement in the Arctic
On July 7th 2011 a maritime border agreement between Russia and Norway entered into force. This new dividing line ends a 44 year dispute over 175,000 square kilometres in the Barents and Arctic seas and opens up the former so called “grey zone” for exploration. The day following the entry into force Norway deployed the Harrier Explorer (Imo 7807380) a seismic vessel to start exploration in the zone.
This border agreement follows a Treaty on Cooperation on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic on May 12th 2011. It is the first legally binding treaty under the circumpolar intergovernmental forum the Arctic Council and was signed in Nuuk Greenland by Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States of America. The Treaty so called the “Nuuk Agreement” is focused on saving lives. It is an important step towards policy-making as there is an increasing amount of traffic venturing into the Arctic, which includes tankers and passenger ships of which a number were not constructed to navigate in ice-covered waters.
