Flickr\\Sarah Macmillan

As we, hopefully, behave well to make the “nice” list and bake our delicious cookies to be left with milk, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on some changes Santa and Mrs. Claus are experiencing in the North Pole and around the planet.

Changes that quite likely will require Santa to make some big adjustments.

What’s happening to Santa’s elf workshop in the North Pole?

Graph from NSIDC, 2010.

If this decline continues, and most climate models are in agreement that it will continue and even worsen, Santa and his elves are going to have to find a different place to put up shop or be left to float in the ocean.

Flickr\\François Roche

How will sleigh travel be impacted?

Have you flown lately and noticed a few more bumps than usual? This experience is not in your head.

According to The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global warming causes water temperatures to warm, and the rising heat from those waters can lead to more disturbances in the upper atmosphere. It’s those upper-air disturbances that cause in-flight turbulence. His sleigh rides might be a bit bumpy. Perhaps he might even be forced to delay certain routes around the globe if they are unsafe due to a large storm.

What will Santa wear?

It might get too warm in Santa’s signature red coat with white collar and cuffs, white-cuffed red trousers, and black leather belt and boots. As air temperatures rise, perhaps he might fancy himself in some Bermuda shorts and candy-cane-colored shirtsleeves. Just as long as he doesn’t shave his beard!

What about the reindeer?

Flickr\\Timo Newton-Syms

Protecting reindeer is yet another reason to reduce carbon emissions to prevent even warmer temperatures from pushing them out of their habitat.

What can Santa do to keep his way of life?

Santa likes his way of life in the north pole, wearing his beard and red coat, sailing smoothly with his trusty reindeer. He cares about reducing carbon emissions to lessen and prevent climate change. For example, his sleigh is powered purely by renewable reindeer energy! He also uses wind power to power his toy workshop as wind is abundant in the North Pole. He also re-uses and recycles wood, plastic and other materials from older toys into creating toys for this upcoming season!

To learn more about how we can reduce big changes and protect Santa’s way of life, please see National Wildlife Federation’s Global Warming Solutions. Enjoy this holiday season!

I grew up in a military family as passionate about recycling and nature as it was about patriotism and public service. I guess it’s no surprise these twin passions drive my favorite Veterans Day activities: thanking the veterans in my life and taking some time to Get Outside. This November, I’d like to share some of the opportunities available in Washington State.

Thanks for reading and feel free to share your Veterans Day and Great Outdoors stories on Twitter or our Facebook site!

1. Spend time with a veteran in our National Parks - free!

Admittance is free to five of our National Parks and Historic Sites over Veterans Day weekend, November 11-13. Which one will you choose?  The thick green and ancient feel of Olympic National Park? The mountain meadows and iconic trails of Mt. Rainier National Park? The wind-swept beaches and coastal rainforests of Lewis and Clark National Historic Park? Or perhaps you’ll tour the Fort Vancouver or Whitman Mission Historical Sites?

Cannon Beach, Oregon - Looking south from Chapman Point Image: flickr/OSU Special Collections & Archives

2. Remember Washington veterans at the Seattle Veterans Museum

4. Attend Veterans Day Ceremonies throughout Washington State

Events are scheduled the week of November 5-12 all over the state including:

Jimmy Carter lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during Veterans Day ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, 11/11/1978 Image: U.S. National Archives

• Evergreen Washelli’s 62nd Annual Veterans Day Memorial Celebration will take place near the Doughboy Statue at the base of the Veterans Memorial Cemetary, beginning at 7 AM on the 11th.
• At the State Capitol Grounds, the 20th Annual Veterans Ceremony will take place on Friday November 10 from Noon to 1 PM, beginning at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial located at the State Capitol grounds east campus plaza near the Capitol Skybridge.
• Tacoma War Memorial Park’s Veterans Day Service will begin at 11 AM on the 11th at 6th Avenue and MacArthur Street near the Narrows Bridge.

For further information on these and other events events, see the list prepared by Washington State’s Department of Veterans Affairs or CBS Seattle.

5. Explore Arctic habitat at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium – Retired & Active Duty admitted free!

Retired and Active Duty military members receive free admission to Tacoma’s Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium on Veterans Day. November 11 also happens to be Artic Animal Play Day – learn about muskox, polar bears, walruses, and other Arctic animals. Be sure to visit the polar bear exhibit to see what it takes to survive in the cold Arctic environment. It’s harsh up there, and the rapid melting of sea ice polar bears depend upon doesn’t make it any easier.

For more information, connect with us on Facebook or check out our website!

Polar bears are long-time veterans of the Arctic. Learn how they're trying to adapt to their changing environment at the Point Defiance Zoo or nwf.org. Image: Christy Mazrimas-Ott

6. Tour the Museum of Flight with a veteran – Retired & Active Duty admitted free!

Join the Bottom Line Duo – a fabulous bass and cello duo – as well as the City of Tukwila Mayor and Councilmembers, distinguished veterans, and the Civil Air Patrol Overlake Squadron color guard for a Veterans Day ceremony from 11 AM to 2 PM. All U.S. Veterans and Active Duty military members receive free admission to the Museum of Flight on Veterans Day. Afterward, enjoy the miracle of flight by flying a kite in one of the area’s many parks and green spaces or simply enjoying unstructured time outside with a Green Hour or hours!

Heading Toward a Record Year

Ice went out earlier and is lower in cover overall this year in Hudson Bay.

As we reported yesterday, Hudson Bay polar bears are eagerly awaiting the sea ice to freeze up so they can break their fast, return to the ice and start hunting for seals, their primary food source. Historically, Hudson Bay should have ice by now and the bears should be long gone. However, climate change is causing dramatic declines in sea ice. As a result, these bears are stuck on land, living off their fat reserves, and waiting. For some, the longer wait could mean starvation and death.

When my plane departed Churchill yesterday, there was still no ice to be seen on the Bay. We could see a new record set this year if things do not improve soon. According to a bulletin issued by Environment Canada today, “the progression of freeze-up is 2 weeks late in western Hudson Bay and only a very narrow fringe of new ice is evident along the western and southern shores at this time.” Check out the above graph to see how low sea ice cover has been in Hudson Bay this year.

How Long Could you Go?

For some, two weeks may not seem like a big deal. But try to imagine what it must be like to eat next-to-nothing for four months, only to find out at the end of your fast that you have to wait two or maybe three more weeks before eating anything of substance. It’s hard to imagine, right? Most people will never know what it feels like to go 2 days, forget months, without food. That’s where the analogy comes in.

As a runner, one comparison that comes to mind has more to do with endurance than food. Say you decide to train for a marathon. For months and months, you train hard, eat right and build up your miles. Come race day, you know you have it in you to make it the full 26.2 miles. Then, on your last half mile, when you can see the finish line, they suddenly announce that you have to run an extra 5 miles. Would you be able to do it?

A polar bear roams the shores of Hudson Bay, waiting for the sea ice to form.

A Harbinger of Things to Come

Many runners would have no problem going the extra distance, but others would not be able to. The same is true for the bears. For some, the late freeze up will not be an issue. I saw plenty of healthy bears out on the tundra this past week.

The problem is that the decline in ice will spell doom for some.

If climate change continues unabated, all it will take is one really bad year from which these bears will not be able to recover.  Eventually, other populations of polar bears, including those in Alaska, will face the problems we are seeing today in Canada.

Ways to Help

Polar Bears International has a ton of useful information about polar bears, and is also monitoring the situation from Churchill. To learn more about energy saving actions, check out myActions.org where you can  pledge to enter your energy saving actions for 3 weeks to increase your awareness and increase your actions.

You can also help NWF defend polar bears against big polluters by taking action.

One of the greatest thrills a person can experience is interacting with animals in the wild. The polar bear is one of the earth’s most magnificent animals, and today we saw many of them here on the banks of Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba.

A Churchill polar bear

Every year the polar bears in this area are forced to abandon their habitat, sea ice, and retreat to a land refuge where there is next to nothing for them to eat.

The bears roam along the shore and, in the fall, begin to congregate around Churchill where the ice begins to form up again.

Sea Ice = Food

Once the ice forms, the bears abandon their summer-long fast and eagerly return to their natural habitat, the cold frozen ice.

From this ice platform, polar bears begin their hunt for seals.  Indeed, polar bears are adapted to feed almost exclusively on seals.  Unlike the grizzly or brown bears that eat a wide variety of foods, polar bears cannot survive without seals.

Longer and Longer Fasts for Hudson Bay Polar Bears

The polar bears in Hudson Bay are different from polar bears further north in that the ice is completely gone here in the summer and the bears have no option but to fast.

If this fast lasts too long, it impacts their ability to gain enough fat during their winter feast of seals to recuperate from their long summer fast.

Hudson Bay should be covered in ice by now and bears should be heading out to start hunting

In the 1970s, this fast typically lasted about 120 days for most bears.  However, this fast has been extending for longer and longer periods as the ice from which they hunt their prey has been breaking up earlier in the spring and forming up later in the fall.

We could be looking at a full five months of fasting for these bears if conditions do not improve quickly.

This year was close to a record for early breakup (July 9) and it appears that it will be closer to or set a new record for ice formation in the fall. 

As a result, some of the polar bears the Canadian researchers are seeing are in worse condition than normal. 

If the ice doesn’t form up soon, some of these bears will die.

How to Help Polar Bears

The driving force behind this change in ice is the greenhouse gas accumulation in the earth’s environment that is causing the earth to warm everywhere and is more accelerated in the far north than in more temperate zones.

If you love the polar bears and want to preserve the opportunity for you and your children to someday see these magnificent creatures as we did today, it is essential to curb our addiction to fossil fuels the burning of which is causing the earth’s climate to change.

Time’s a-wasting for us, and especially for the polar bears.

My first polar bear sighting was unforgettable

When I found out that National Wildlife Federation was sending me to the polar bear capital of the world to do some work on polar bears, I was pretty excited. On Thursday, when my plane touched down and I stepped out onto the tundra, my excitement kicked up a notch. Today, when I watched a polar bear walk toward me, pause, then look me in the eye, I reached child-on-Christmas-morning levels of giddiness.

Volumes have been written about the majesty of polar bears, the awe they inspire, and the life changing experience it is seeing one in the wild. I wish every person on the planet could have this experience – to look into the eyes of a polar bear, to see a mother with her cubs, to watch males spar on the tundra. I am pretty sure if we could pull this off, we would have no problems implementing solutions to climate change.

Imagine it: Every time you drive your car instead of taking public transit, you flash back to your trip out on the tundra. Every time a Senator has to decide to vote yes or no on climate legislation, they see the face of a polar bear looking up at them. Every time an oil executive gets ready to sign a new lease to drill for oil off the Alaskan coast, he pictures a mother polar bear leading her cubs out to the ice for their first hunt.

Unfortunately, polar bear tours for the everyone is not an option, and every day people make decisions without thinking twice about the ramifications for the planet. From the cars we buy to the officials we elect, many of our choices have real consequences for polar bears and other species threatened by climate change. Simply put, we all play in a part in deciding whether or not polar bears will survive the climate crisis.

Right now, polar bears are struggling. Here in Churchill, polar bears could see one of their worst years yet. In the coming days and weeks, we hope to shine a light on this story with the help of Polar Bears International, an organization dedicated to educating people about polar bears and inspiring people to take actions to save them.

Polar bears and climate change

Learn how climate change is impacting polar bears and their sea ice habitat.