Prime Minister Stephen Harper
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

Dear Prime Minister Stephen Harper,

I am deeply concerned about climate change in the Arctic and the threat this poses to the polar bear.

Temperatures in the Arctic are rising at almost twice the rate of that of the rest of the world, and it is threatening to place the entire Arctic ecosystem in jeopardy. For the polar bear, an irreplaceable symbol of the Arctic, climate change could lead to their extinction.

The polar bear depends on sea ice to survive, hunting for seal until the ice disappears every summer. As climate warming reduces the extent of the pack ice, the polar bear loses precious hunting time, and the number of polar bears declines.

I call on the Government of Canada to:

1) protect the polar bear's habitat and slow the effects of global warming in Canada's treasured Far North.

2) take the lead in protecting our natural heritage. We must provide international leadership in the battle against global warming

3) establish strong regulations concerning access to and removal of natural resources from within Canada's North. Oil and gas development should not come at the expense of our nation's wildlife.

4) maintain essential habitat for all Arctic wildlife, and ensure that Canadian communities in our North are not disrupted by climate change.

Thank you for considering my views.

Paul Malouf
(source: Nature Canada)

"We have seen the ice-covered area drop to just around 3 million square kilometers,
which is about 1 million square kilometers less than the previous minima of 2005
and 2006. There has been a reduction of the ice cover over the last 10 years of about
100, 000 square kilometers per year on average, so a drop of 1 million square kilometers
in just one year is extreme. That raises flags that the ice (in summer) may disappear much sooner than expected and that we urgently need to understand better the processes involved." - Leif Toudal Pedersen, Danish National Space Centre

I envy the polar bears because humans are mostly extinct by 2015.

Cindy -- You're an optimist.