While all of this activity is going on at the conference, there is also a backchannel of news about the leaking of e–mails of the scientists at the University of East Aglia. The text of the e–mails suggests that data regarding climate change had been altered by the scientists and was not accurate. This news shook the level of trust by many people on many levels, especially due to the economic and financial impact of climate change steps and agreements that governments of many countries are preparing to undertake.

However, the focus of the climate change conference remains steady as repeatedly scientists and experts state that the data, the research, and the science of what is happening to the climate and to our planet are sound and based on accurate facts. The work of those in attendance (individuals, organizations, and government leaders) continues during the conference, and the serious implications of what is happening is repeatedly being shared with attendees.

While there are still those people who are doubtful or unsure about climate change and the effects of mankind’s CO2 emissions on greenhouse gases and global warming, it is clearly evident that we all need to “change our ways” and become better stewards of our planet. No matter what the reason for doing so, it is just the “right thing to do.” And, along with “going green,” we create new industries, which helps our economy. As we become self-sufficient in our energy production as a country, we become less dependent on foreign countries for our energy supplies, which benefits our national security. So, what is there to lose?

And, if you have been to the Arctic and seen the changes in the ice formation and the effects on the polar bears…or if you have been to Tanzania and seen the reduced ice on the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro – the same ice that melts and supplies water to the surrounding villages – or if you have heard of the flooding of areas of Bangladesh due to rising sea levels, then you know that the signs are clear in those places as well as in many other places around the world. And, you also know that now is a critical time to take action and make a change. Change must come not only in the form of changing lightbulbs and driving hybrid cars and all of the things we can do individually, but it must also happen on a much greater scale. Business, government, and industry leaders are the ones who are going to truly make a difference through their policies and laws affecting energy production and greenhouse gas emissions.

Thus, the success of the Copenhagen Climate Conference is critical as scientists and leaders come together over the next two weeks to learn from each other, plan together, and take actions to make a difference for all of us and for our planet. Don’t let the backchannel of news distract from the bigger issue. It is more important now than it has ever been that we all continue to take action and do all that we can to stop climate change. And, if we all do our part, then collectively we truly can make a difference.

Celebrate the Copenhagen climate conference as we all are hopeful that through this opportunity for scientists and world leaders to connect and collaborate will come real actions to help us on our path to solutions for the polar bears and for all of us!

Last year when I was here, it was cloudy most of the time that I was on the tundra. This year has been very different. It has been gorgeous and clear and sunny. Last year, I didn’t see the spectacular sunrises and sunsets by the Hudson Bay. Those are magic times of gorgeous blue and green water, bouncing colors of light hitting the snow, and reflections of the sun on the bears themselves. I had to just stop at different times and simply take in the beauty and wonder of this frozen land and the animals that inhabit it. It truly is spectacular. While we could see white ice far off in the distance on the horizon of the Hudson Bay, there is actually less ice forming near the shore than there was last week because of the sunshine and warmer, southern winds. The residents of this area are concerned at how late it is in the year, yet the Hudson Bay has not frozen more than it has. There have been a large number of bears wandering into town, and this is partially attributed to the fact that the Hudson Bay is not frozen. We are all hoping for colder weather very soon so the bears can move out to the ice and once again begin feeding on seals.

During my days on the tundra, the bears were very active. They were sparring (play fighting), ice punching, testing the ice floes by walking on them and jumping from one to another, rolling around, wrestling with each other, and being ever-curious about the humans who were observing them. We also saw a caribou, which is very unusual for this time of year.

The tourists who were guests staying on the Tundra Buggy Lodge were from all over the world. They started the trip not knowing each other, yet ended the trip as good friends because of their common experience and common passion for the bears. The panelists with whom I worked on the Tundra Connections education videoconferences and webcasts were amazing. We all were very diverse in our occupations, yet united by our common passion. We learned with and from each other all week. And, thanks to B. J. Kirschoffer’s technical expertise, the programs were all a great success! But, although this series of Tundra Connections events has ended, we’ve already had a debriefing, and we’ve scheduled a planning meeting for January. Already we are planning how to improve our outreach and make it even more engaging and impactful.

So, after days of watching the amazing bears on the tundra, meeting lots of new friends, being with lots of old friends (the PBI family), and working with iMax and NBC film crews, it is time to wind up my trip to Churchill for this season and focus on packing up and preparing to return back to Memphis. It is a time of celebrations for a season of work “well done,” a time of excitement about what we have accomplished, and a time of sadness as we all go our separate ways and return to our lives around the world. But, wherever we go, whatever we do, we will take the polar bears and the Arctic with us in our minds and in our hearts. We all will do our parts both individually and collectively to take action to stop the changing climate, protect polar bear habitat, and advocate for others to do the same.

So, as I leave Churchill tomorrow, I am re-energized to meet these challenges, knowing that others will be doing the same. And, the visual images of the eyes of the polar bears into which I looked so deeply this week will stay with me. And, the beauty of the Northern Lights on a starry, starry night in the Hudson Bay area of the Arctic in Canada will forever remind me of the beauty of this planet we are all inhabiting…and how important it is for each of us to be good stewards of this pale, blue dot (Earth) that we call home.

As some of you may recall, “Rolling on the Tundra,” an interdisciplinary study of polar bears and climate change, was published last year on the Apple Learning Interchange in conjunction with live webcasts conducted from the shores of the Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba. This year, there will be two different weeks of webcasts conducted from the tundra. These both are part of a new ALI exhibit, “Polar Bears in a Changing Climate.”

The webcasts this year are very engaging with live cameras on the bears on the tundra as well as video clips from bears recently encountered. The curriculum in the new exhibit is based on Challenge Based Learning, and the main focus is climate change.

The first series of webcasts includes an environmental science teacher from St. George’s as well as scientists and zoologists on the panel (Oct. 19-21). The second set of webcasts (Nov. 9-11) will include a great panel of experts as well, and I will facilitate that discussion. There is a sheet of FAQ’s for educators to use prior to the webcasts as well as lots of CBL resources that provide framework for educators new to this instructional strategy. And, there are some great resources to go with the lessons and webcasts. To participate in the webcasts, go to the “Polar Bears in a Changing Climate” exhibit for details.

Please share this information with others you know who may be interested. This should be a great series of informative session, and I hope that the resources will be beneficial.

You will currently find some great resources available on the site. More examples of technology-specific products being used to support the lessons and the solutions (psa’s created with iMovie, Pages documents, etc.), additional videos, etc. are being added, so be looking for those.

Below is the link for the new exhibit as well as the link for the one from last year. I hope that you will consider joining the webcasts, and that this information will be of benefit to you, your teachers, and/or your students.

“Polar Bears in a Changing Climate”

“Rolling on the Tundra”

If each of us takes steps to reduce our carbon footprint, we can all join together to make a real impact on the environment. The problems that are affecting the polar bears are difficult to resolve because they are being affected by the actions of people globally. There is not one regional or local situation that can “fix” this. The remedy and the responsibility for positive change lies with each of us. It is a problem that knows no borders, countries, regions, or states. This is a “world” problem.

I challenge you to find five things you can change today that would make a difference in your carbon footprint. Then, keep looking for more ways to change privately at home, in your community, and in ways that would influence and promote change globally. 

Share your ideas for change here! Post a comment that shares what actions YOU are going to take to make a difference in the world and especially for the polar bears. Ideas and additional information and resources can be found on the “Rolling on the Tundra” website’s carbon footprint section.

(Note: The entry below was written by Geoff York

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live for a time on the Arctic tundra surrounded by polar bears who are awaiting the return of winter sea ice? Have you ever considered living for several days in a large bus-like vehicle that stands six feet off the ground and awaking to northern lights or a curious white furry face staring into your “bedroom” window?

Neither had I. However, this is exactly what I did for 10 days this autumn in Churchill, Manitoba. Following the invitation of Polar Bears International (PBI), a new conservation partner with WWF, I travelled to Hudson Bay and participated in a series of international outreach and education opportunities.

There are no roads to this far northern town, so you have to fly via small aircraft or take a very long and slow train. Three hours later, my flight touches down on the small airstrip next to Hudson Bay. The winds are blowing 50 knots and gusting to 70.  Sparse snow is scattered across the tundra landscape and the small ponds are just starting to freeze. I have a few hours to arrange my gear and grab some lunch before heading out to meet the rest of my team on PBI’s Buggy One and the Tundra Buggy® Lodge.

The “Lodge” is actually a series of buggy cars joined together, a uniquely Northern train. It is located on the shore of the Bay about 20 miles outside of Churchill. The trip out takes about an hour by the slow moving Tundra Buggy® vehicles- specially designed and standing over six feet off the ground with large wheels for the rocky trails. As luck would have it, a helicopter was heading out the evening I arrived with space for one more passenger. A short flight later we touched down at PBI’s Buggy One- a customized Tundra Buggy® turned mobile production studio designed to deliver real time HD video, web casting, and video conferencing for education and outreach on polar bear conservation.

WWF, PBI and other partners, including North America’s top polar bear researchers and conservationists, joined together this year to report on climate change, its impacts to the Arctic, and the subsequent impacts on polar bears. During my stay we conducted video conference calls to thousands of people across North America. We also partnered with the Apple Learning Interchange and the “Rolling on the Tundra” exhibit to conduct a series of webcasts which at last count had received over 7,000 hits!

As the polar bear viewing capitol of the world and the epicenter of climate change impacts on polar bears, Hudson Bay is the ideal backdrop for these public science and policy discussions. Polar bears gather every year in October and November along the shoreline of Hudson Bay while they wait for the bay to freeze.

The polar bears in this part of the world are unique in that they have been onshore since early summer. Most of the world’s polar bears remain with the retreating ice pack and do not come ashore.  In Hudson Bay the sea ice melts completely each summer forcing the bears to shore where they spend 4-9 months fasting. The bears rely on the sea ice returning to resume hunting their primary prey- ice seals. Trouble is, the ice is freezing later each year and is also melting earlier each spring.

The situation in Hudson Bay is clear- the climate is warming, the sea ice is rapidly melting, and as a result these polar bears have lost five weeks of feeding time in the last 20 years. Adult bears are returning to shore in poorer condition, the females are having fewer cubs, and fewer cubs are surviving to adulthood. Research from the Canadian Wildlife Service documents an average decline of over one percent per year for the Hudson Bay population (a staggering 22% decline since 1987). With less and less time on the sea ice, this iconic group of polar bears is in significant trouble.

Our mission in Churchill was twofold: alert people that higher temperatures are having a direct and harmful effect not only on polar bears in Hudson Bay, but on populations across the Arctic; and let them know they could do something about the situation.  The messages from the Arctic are grim, but it is important people realize it is not too late to reverse these trends.

Through sharing the troubles facing polar bears, we engaged and encouraged people to join us in efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Global warming is a problem of enormous reach and significance to every living thing in this world. The issues are so big and complex that we sometimes think there is nothing we can do. The exact opposite is true. It is only through personal leadership and individual action that we can collectively make a difference. It is only through leading by example in reducing our energy use, in becoming smarter consumers, in voting with our feet and dollars that we can truly become the change the world desperately needs. It is only through personal action and grassroots leadership that we will create a chain reaction from the local to regional to national to global scale that will ultimately decarbonize our economies and create the conditions needed for a sustainable and living planet

Living with polar bears in Hudson Bay is transformative. One cannot leave the experience without being impacted by seeing these magnificent animals interact with one another and with their environment. We simply must do everything we can to turn down the world’s thermostat and give the ice and the bears a fighting chance. As the Arctic acts to regulate and cool the rest of the world, we also need to save the sea ice to save ourselves. 

Geoff York Biographical Information:

Geoff York recently joined WWF as the Arctic Program polar bear conservation coordinator and is currently based in the WWF Alaska field office. In this role he is responsible for WWF’s circumpolar polar bear conservation efforts. Geoff completed his BA from the University of Notre Dame and has lived in Alaska since 1990 when he came north to pursue a Master’s degree in science/biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He has 12 years of field experience in the Arctic, most recently as a Biologist and Program Manager for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Polar Bear Project, the leading polar bear research team in the U.S. His work included leading field efforts in the capture and handling of 100s of bears, tagging them, collecting a variety of biological samples to assess disease and health-related parameters, and collaring adult females with radio telemetry devices to tracking the bears’ movements on sea ice. Geoff also led development of Infrared (FLIR) detection techniques for locating maternal dens remotely and pioneered work with radio frequency identification tagging of bears while at the USGS.

Webcast Number 3 “Taking Action and Making a Difference”
Thursday, November 6th at 11 a.m. central time

This third and final Apple webcast for the first week of November 2008 will focus on actions that can be taken to help preserve the polar bear populations and protect their habitat. What can we do locally where we live? What kinds of activities and projects could we do to raise awareness in the larger, global community that could motivate people to make changes to conserve energy, reduce carbon footprints, etc.? What other animals are being threatened in the same way as the polar bears – because of loss of habitat? What is being done to help those animals? These and other topics will be discussed in this third webcast. 

This webcast is done in partnership with Polar Bears International, Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, and Apple.