1. On July 18, wildlife researcher Dr. Charles Monnett was put on suspension by his employer, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), pending an Inspector General’s investigation into undisclosed “integrity issues.”
2. On July 19^, USGS polar bear scientists at an international bear conference reported their early findings that the increasingly long distances that polar bears have to swim to reach polar ice in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas puts adults and their cubs at increasing risk of drowning. This provided additional support for previous published reports by George M. Durner and by Charles Monnett and Jeffrey Gleason of drowned polar bears.
3. On August 4, the same agency that suspended Dr. Monnett, BOEMRE, tentatively approved plans by Shell Oil to begin drilling for oil in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska’s coast as early as next year.

Of these three stories, the one that has received the most attention is the first. Politicians and interest groups that deny climate change is happening leaped on the Monnett suspension story. They are misleading the public by falsely discrediting scientific findings about the impacts of climate change on polar bears, even though BOEMRE has subsequently clarified that the suspension was not based on any concerns over Monnett’s published science, but rather on some-yet-to-be identified concerns over whether appropriate administrative processes were followed.

Read “Why Big Oil is Declaring War on Polar Bears – And How You Can Help Fight Back” to learn why the Monnett investigation has been seized upon by big polluters as a way to confuse the public about climate science.

Sadly, it is the other two stories that should be getting attention and causing alarm.

8 Science-Backed Facts About Polar Bears and Climate Change

The scientific evidence that polar bears are at increasing risk from climate change is overwhelming.  National Wildlife Federation has put together a helpful reference list of scientific studies, reports and books on the topic. This compilation is not intended to provide an exhaustive list of the science, but rather an overview of the newest and best science. To facilitate access, we have listed the top scientific findings, and included citation(s) for the original study.

Arctic sea ice is declining as a result of climate change.

References: 23, 9, 13, 18, 5, 25, 2, 3, 17

Sea ice is declining much faster than projected even under the worse case scenarios.

Reference: 17

Thicker, more stable multi-year sea ice is being replaced by thinner annual sea ice, reducing the ability of polar bears to capture their primary food, seals.

References:14, 17, 26, 13, 21, 7, 18, 6, 28

Polar bears are swimming further distances to reach the sea ice on which they hunt, increasing risks to both adult and subadult polar bears.

References: 6, 17, 20, 7, 14, 16, 13, 18, 10, 11

Sea ice decline means fewer hunting opportunities for polar bears and increased scarcity of food.

References: 17, 20, 14, 21, 16, 23, 19, 26, 24, 13, 6, 7, 18, 5, 1,11

Polar bear populations are already significantly decreasing in the southern portions of their range because of reduced hunting opportunity. Similar changes are beginning to be seen in more northern areas.

References: 17, 14, 20, 21, 16, 12, 23, 19, 26, 24, 13, 7, 18, 5, 27

Climate change will also increase conflicts between humans and bears.

References: 17, 18, 29

Polar bears can still be saved if greenhouse gas emissions are reduced.

References: 9, 8

Stop a New Attack Threatening Polar Bears!

Members of Congress are considering legislation that cripples long-standing conservation programs,  increases global warming pollution, and facilitates further drilling in Alaska that threatens the very survival of polar bears. Help protect polar bears and many more wildlife by sending a message to your members of Congress, urging them to stop this unprecedented attack on wildlife.

https://online.nwf.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1475&s_src=WildlifePromise

References

1. A Bayesian Network Modeling Approach to Forecasting the 21st Century Worldwide Status of Polar Bears
2. A rapidly declining perennial sea ice cover in the Arctic
3. Accelerated decline in the Arctic sea ice cover
4. Arctic sea ice decline: Faster than forecast
5. Climate change threatens polar bear populations: a stochastic demographic analysis
6. Consequences of long-distance swimming and travel over deep-water pack ice for a female polar bear during a year of extreme sea ice retreat
7. Effects of Earlier Sea Ice Breakup on Survival and Population Size of Polar Bears in Western Hudson Bay
8. Forecasting the Range-wide Status of Polar Bears at Selected Times in the 21st Century
9. Greenhouse gas mitigation can reduce sea-ice loss and increase polar bear persistence
10. Observations of mortality associated with extended open-water swimming by polar bears in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea
11. Polar Bear Distribution and Habitat Association Reflect Long-term Changes in Fall Sea Ice Conditions in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea
12. Polar Bear Population Status in Southern Hudson Bay, Canada
13. Polar Bears in a Warming Climate
14. Polar Bears in the Southern Beaufort Sea I: Survival and Breeding in Relation to Sea Ice Conditions, 2001-2006
15. Polar Bears in the Southern Beaufort Sea II: Demography and Population Growth in Relation to Sea Ice Conditions
16. Polar Bears in the Southern Beaufort Sea III: Stature, Mass, and Cub Recruitment in Relationship to Time and Sea Ice Extent Between 1982 and 2006
17. Polar Bears: The Natural History of a Threatened Species
18. Possible Effects of Climate Warming on Selected Populations of Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) in the Canadian Arctic
19. Possible Impacts of Climatic Warming on Polar Bears
20. Predicting Movements of Female Polar Bears between Summer Sea Ice Foraging Habitats and Terrestrial Denning Habitats of Alaska in the 21st Century: Proposed Methodology and Pilot Assessment
21. Predicting survival, reproduction and abundance of polar bears under climate change
22. Predicting the Future Distribution of Polar Bear Habitat in the Polar Basin from Resource Selection Functions Applied to 21st Century General Circulation Model Projections of Sea Ice
23. Range-Wide Status Review of the Polar Bear
24. Recent observations of intraspecific predation and cannibalism among polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea
25. Sensitivity of Hudson Bay Sea ice and ocean climate to atmospheric temperature forcing
26. Survival and breeding of polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea in relation to sea ice
27. Temporal Trends in the Body Condition of Southern Hudson Bay Polar Bears
28. Trends in the Dates of Ice Freeze-up and Breakup over Hudson Bay, Canada
29. 3^rd International Bear-People Conflicts Workshop Summary

Photo by Mila Zinkova via Wikimedia Commons.

It’s happening again – Big Oil is using deceptive tactics to confuse the public about climate science. And this time, the attack threatens polar bears. We need your help to see through their smokescreen and to stand up for the truth.

Let’s go step by step to understand the attack, why it’s happening, and how we can fight back together.

The Strategy

A federal agency is looking into compliance with procurement process regulations, so global warming must not be happening and we can stop protecting polar bears. No, really – that’s what climate science-denying polluter front groups are claiming.

It’s become a familiar pattern, most recently repeated in the illegally hacked climate scientist email story:

• Take a complicated story most people don’t fully understand yet and make wild, completely unsubstantiated claims about what it means.
• Target individual scientists with personal attacks, leaving other advocates of scientific truth fearful of speaking out and being the next victim.
• Urge journalists to report to the controversy, leaving the public confused.

By the time the truth comes out, it’s too late – just enough doubt has been sowed to keep the profits rolling in.

The Attack

In the latest version, polluter groups are attacking the work of Dr. Charles Monnett, a wildlife biologist whose heartbreaking observations (pdf) documented polar bears’ vulnerability to the global warming-fueled retreat of summer Arctic sea ice.

His research was apparently the first documentation of polar bears drowning at sea on long swims. The study is part of a mountain of evidence that led to polar bears being listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (though the National Wildlife Federation argues they should be considered endangered).

“When it comes to science demonstrating the threat to polar bears posed by global warming, this study is only the tip of the iceberg,” says Dr. Doug Inkley, senior scientist with the National Wildlife Federation. “The latest major study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey further documents that on long swims to receding Arctic sea ice, some bear cubs are disappearing, and their mothers burn much-needed calories. So far, 2011 is no exception – the Arctic’s summer sea ice is at record-low levels.”

Big Oil’s strategy reveals much more about its own shameful lack of integrity as it does about Dr. Monnett’s work. That’s because the federal agency itself says its probe has “nothing to do with scientific integrity,” instead focusing on contract questions:

Some new details have emerged in the mysterious case of Charles Monnett, the government wildlife biologist under investigation by the Department of Interior’s Inspector General. When Monnett, who works for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE) in Alaska, was placed on adminstrative leave last month pending an investigation into unspecified “integrity issues,” there was speculation that the probe was linked to the biologist’s 2006 paper on polar bear deaths in the Arctic. But a spokeswoman for BOEMRE insisted last week that the investigation has “nothing to do with scientific integrity, his 2006 journal article, or issues related to permitting, as has been alleged.”

On Tuesday, Monnett’s legal representatives at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) released a memorandum that the IG’s office issued to the biologist last Friday indicating that its investigation centers on the procurement process for a research project on “Populations and Sources of Recruitment in Polar Bears.” The University of Alberta in Canada is the lead organization on the ongoing study, but BOEMRE provided a substantial portion of the funding. The agency ordered to the university to “cease and desist” all work on the study five days before Monnett was suspended in mid-July. [NWF Update: Suspension has since been lifted.]

The IG’s memo to Monnett requests an August 9 meeting to discuss “compliance with Federal Acquisition Regulations, disclosure of personal relationships, and preparation of the scope of work.”

Here’s just one example of how Big Oil’s allies have been executing their smokescreen strategy. The New York Post (owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation) ran an op-ed on Tuesday claiming BOEMRE’s probe–again, BOEMRE itself now says it has nothing to do with the polar bear study– saying that while “the specifics of the investigation are as yet unclear,” we can safely leap to the conclusion that climate science itself is in question. Sound familiar?

The article was written by Matt Patterson of a polluter front group called “Capital Research Center.” The CRC has received $265,000 from Exxon Mobil since 1998 according to ExxonSecrets.org, along with millions more from organizations built with polluter profits like the Sciafe Foundations. Like many polluter front groups, the CRC had extensive ties to the tobacco industry before moving on to climate science denial.

What, you expected Exxon Mobil to attack climate and polar bear science directly? That’s not how it works. Polluters pay front groups to do it for them, so instead of coming from a big, bad oil company, the attacks appear to be coming from a dispassionate third party.

The Motive

Why is attacking the science connecting polar bears and global warming so critical for these polluter front groups? Oil companies have been pushing relentlessly to drill in the Arctic, not only in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge but in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas – which the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has designated under the Endangered Species Act as critical polar bear habitat. Given the rock-solid scientific evidence, Big Oil knows it can’t win a fair debate, so it needs to resort to smokescreens and personal attacks to have any shot at drilling.

“The BP Gulf oil disaster reminds us that offshore drilling in environmentally sensitive areas, such as critical habitat for polar bears and other Arctic species, is simply not worth the risk,” says Dr. Doug Inkley.

via Norbert Rossing

Fight Back for Polar Bears

Legislation in Congress right now would gut the Endangered Species Act, and cripple the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to protect wildlife, clean air and water. Please take a moment to ask your members of Congress to stop this attack threatening polar bears.

Once you do, please pass this post along to your friends using the share, tweet and like buttons at the bottom of this post, or just email the link to your friends. The more people know about Big Oil’s deceptive tactics, the stronger our case will be for protecting polar bears.

1. Highlight of the Week: Science Solid, America’s Polar Bears on Thin Ice
2. Quote: Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL)
3. Economic Story of the Week: Speeding Towards Fuel Efficiency
4. Editorial of the Week: Climate Change & the Plight of the Whitebark Pine
5. Capps for Clean Air
6. Schweiger Says: Will Someone Ask If News Corp. Was Behind Hacked Climate Emails?
7. Preview: Study: Climate-Induced Weather Extremes and the Future for Indian Country
8. Debt Deal, No Deal for Climate
9. Happening this Week

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Highlight of the Week

Science Solid, America’s Polar Bears on Thin Ice

credit: Mark Wexler

The Bureau of Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) has reportedly placed on administrative leave Dr. Charles Monnett, a wildlife biologist, pending an internal investigation into “integrity issues.” Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) has alleged the query is a “political attempt to impugn [Dr. Monnett’s] observations on polar bears’ vulnerability to retreating sea ice.”

Dr. Doug Inkley, senior scientist with the National Wildlife Federation, said:

“When it comes to science demonstrating the threat to polar bears posed by global warming, this study is only the tip of the iceberg. There’s a massive body of established scientific evidence showing receding Arctic sea ice is putting polar bears in greater danger with each passing year.

“The latest major study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey only deepened concern, documenting long swims to Arctic summer sea ice put polar bear cubs at risk of drowning and force mothers to burn needed calories. So far, 2011 is no exception – the Arctic’s summer sea ice is at record-low levels.

“The terrible plight of polar bears due to climate change is based on decades of outstanding science that is absolutely irrefutable. Should BOEMRE, the agency responsible for handing out Arctic drilling permits, conduct its own investigation into Arctic polar bear science?”

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Quote:

via Center for American Progress Action Fund

“The weather is getting worse and more violent. Catastrophic, in fact. The federal government needs to do more to be ready to protect federal assets and provide disaster assistance on an increasing frequency…We’ve stopped talking about this on Capitol Hill. We’ve decided that the debate over global warming is too contentious. I think it’s a big mistake.”

- Senator Dick Durbin, Chair, Senate Subcommittee on Financial Services and Government.

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Economic Story of the Week

Speeding Towards Fuel Efficiency

President Obama has announced new fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks that would double the current requirement to 54.5 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2025, resulting in a dramatic reduction in America’s oil dependence and carbon pollution.

“Whether you’re a commuter in a compact car or a sportsman who needs a pickup truck, every American deserves access to the most fuel-efficient, technologically-advanced vehicles that save them money, cut pollution and deliver great performance,” said Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “These rules are an important step toward reducing our billion-dollar-a-day addiction to imported oil, money that stronger fuel efficiency standards will keep at home to invest in job creation here in America.”

The new standards would raise car fuel efficiency standards 5 percent annually between 2017 and 2025, while light trucks would be required to reach an annual gain of 3.5 percent between 2017 and 2021, and 5 percent between 2022 and 2025.

“A broad range of interests – from automakers to unions to conservationists – has come together behind these new rules,” said Schweiger. “The technology is ready, the standards are achievable and poll after poll shows the American people strongly support getting the job done. We all benefit from robust standards to cut our oil dependence, create American jobs, and protect wildlife and public health, and we stand ready to defend these gains from extremist, politically-motivated attacks.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Editorial of the Week

Climate Change & the Plight of the Whitebark Pine

(NY Times)

via Miguel Vieira/Flickr

For centuries, the whitebark pine, Pinus albicaulis, has grown on hundreds of thousands of acres across the West. It is a keystone species of an entire ecosystem — one now seriously at risk. Most of the whitebark pines in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks are dead. It has been declared an endangered species in Canada. And, last week, the Fish and Wildlife Service stated that the whitebark pine “warranted” listing as threatened or endangered, making it one of the very few species officially acknowledged as threatened by climate change. The tragedy is the ongoing demise of an ecosystem, one for which humans are culpable. What looks, from the air, like a plagued forest has been plagued by the choices we have made over the past century.

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Capps for Clean Air

NWF & Congresswoman Capps Speak out for Clean Air

A press conference was held on Capitol Hill last week in support of an amendment to the House Environment and Interior Appropriations bill that would protect people and wildlife by striking a rider in the bill that delays the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to limit mercury and other harmful air toxics emitted from power plants.

The amendment, introduced by Representative Lois Capps (D-CA) would allow the EPA to set standards for dangerous air pollution that will save thousands of lives each year and reduce 90 percent of mercury that is emitted from coal-fired power plants. Mothers in Congress spoke at the event, including Rep. Lois Capps, Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), all expressing concern about the effects of mercury on children and women of child bearing age. Mercury is especially dangerous to children and developing fetuses; exposure affects a child’s ability to walk, talk, read, write and learn.

The American Lung Association is also using a nation-wide television campaign to urge Congress not to support policy that, according to Senator Harry Reid, would bring America back to “the robber-baron era where there were no controls on pollution from power plants, oil refineries and factories.”

The EPA is currently accepting public comments on a proposed rule to limit mercury and air toxics from power plants. Click here to take action.

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Will Someone Ask If News Corp. Was Behind Hacked Climate Emails?

Will the media finally start asking if Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. was connected to the illegal hacking of climate scientist emails?

It’s been frustrating that for all the rightful attention paid to The News of the World phone hacking scandal, virtually no journalist has been willing to ask if News Corp.’s lawbreaking extended into email hacking.

Given how quickly the stolen emails were handed to climate science deniers who were then immediately featured on Fox News, it’s a fair question to ask.

When the hacked emails were subject to independent investigation, climate scientists were vindicated. But given the clear as well as alleged connections between Scotland Yard and News Corp. in recent news, there’s been no similar independent investigation of who stole the emails in the first place. And as much as journalists were eager to report to the controversy on the emails, they’ve shown little interest in tracking down the thieves.

Read more from NWF CEO and president Larry Schweiger, here.

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Preview Study: Climate-Induced Weather Extremes and the Future for Indian Country

via NWF

The National Wildlife Federation is releasing a new report on the disproportionate impacts of climate change on North American Indian Tribes. North American Indian Tribes are especially harmed by climate change, as more ecological shifts and more frequent, more extreme weather events occur. Because Tribes are heavily dependent on natural resources, severe weather events like droughts, floods, wildfires, and snowstorms make tribal communities particularly vulnerable and impact American Indians and Alaska Natives more than they impact the general population.

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Debt Deal, No Deal for Climate

Legislation to raise the debt ceiling and cut federal spending passed Congress today and was signed into law by President Obama. The deal imposes discretionary budget program caps, resulting in reductions for the Departments of Interior, Agriculture and Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, and other agencies that focus on conservation and little chance of attaching a tax on carbon pollution to pay down the deficit. The Waxman-Markey bill that passed the House last congress and Senator John Kerry’s climate proposal were both deficit reducers.

According to Climate Progress there have been 110 anti-environmental votes taken since the 112th Congress began with 20 related to climate change, 28 on air and water pollution, and 22 on clean energy. Click here to take action and tell your Congressperson to stop the attacks on our health, wildlife and the nation’s national resources.

“The deal to resolve the Congressional debt ceiling crisis and avoid the catastrophe of a national default is clearly a relief for America,” said NWF president and CEO Larry Schweiger. “But moving forward, members of Congress must remember the heavier a burden our conservation programs are forced to bear in the short term, the higher a risk we face in the long term – not just in higher public health costs, but in jeopardizing the wildlife and special places that generations of Americans have protected and handed down to their children and grandchildren.”

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Happening this Week

Wednesday, August 3

Teleconference and Report Release: Climate Change Hurts Indian Tribes Disproportionately, 12 PM EST, email Weinmanna@nwf.org for more information

Hearing on energy tax policy reform, Ways and Means, 10:00 AM, 1100 Longworth

Hearing on five public lands bills, Energy and Natural Resources, 2:30 PM, 366 Dirksen

Thursday, August 4

Proposed DC Biodiesel Plant and the Environment, DC Environmental Network, 12PM, Global Green USA, 1100 15th Street NW, 11th Floor , RSVP for the August 4th DCEN Event Here!

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For more global warming news on Wildlife Promise click here.