Renowned polar bear scientist speaks at CWDHS about climate change
October 28, 2015
On Wed. Oct. 28, Dr. Andrew Derocher spoke to students at CWDHS about climate change.
Students at Centre Wellington District High School in Fergus were treated to a very special event on Wednesday, organized by teacher Jack Frimeth.
More than 150 students packed into the drama room to listen to renowned polar bear scientist Dr. Andrew E. Derocher speak about climate change. Dr. Derocher is a professor of biological sciences at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. His research over the last 30 years studying polar bears – not only in Canada but also in Svalbard and western Russia – has focused on their ecology and conservation.
According to researchers, polar bears have become an “inconvenient species” because the threat to them is so easy to understand but so difficult to fix. New research shows that Arctic ice – the polar bear’s primary habitat – is melting much faster than scientists had believed. There has been a 66 per cent decrease in numbers of polar bears over the past 40 years. Dr. Derocher’s take home message is: global warming is the main cause for habitat loss for polar bears, and thus this species may disappear.
When Dr. Derocher was asked during the question and answer portion of his presentation about hope for the future he said he was cautiously optimistic. He acknowledged: “The hardest thing to change is our own behavior.”
He told students to get involved and find out the facts: “if you understand the problem, it is easier to come up with a solution. We are looking for leadership on climate change.”
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