Article #10 10-18

Walruses Suffer Substantial Losses as Sea Ice Erodes
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Published: October 2, 2009

Summary: Half a century after Pacific walruses began recovering from industrial-scale hunting, marine biologists are growing worried that they face a mounting threat from global warming. United States Geological Survey issued a report concluding that 131 walruses found dead near Icy Cape, Alaska, on Sept. 14 died from being crushed or stampeded.Walruses have endured more than 15 million years of climatic ups and downs, so experts do not foresee the species’ becoming extinct, particularly if hunting remains controlled.But there has been growing confirmation that the walrus is suffering substantial losses as the sheath of sea ice in coastal waters erodes in the summer.

Response: If these animals have endured millions of years of climate changes and they cannot survive the planet now we know that there is something seriously wrong. This is our opportunity to fix what we have messed up.