The lens of a camera is powerful because it has the ability to capture and preserve a memory for years to come. These photographs have the uncanny ability to transport you to a whole other dimension simply by gazing into them. One day, I happened to be scrolling through the Instagram page for National Geographic when I stumbled upon a photograph taken by one of their many photographers. This particular picture wasn’t awe inspiring or breathtaking but rather it was simply tragic and heartbreaking. The picture was of an emaciated adult polar bear in a barren landscape with no ice insight, and his drooping head indicated that he had no more fight left in him. The reason for this particular polar bear’s poor health and untimely death could have stemmed from multiple causes; however, it doesn’t take an expert to know that global warming is contributing to the demise of polar bears.
Global warming is a hot topic right now, and a major source of disagreement especially when it comes to differences between political parties. Global warming is a frequent term but it is important to understand the cause of it to be able to mitigate its effects. The cause of global warming is the release of large quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere where heat becomes trapped in these gases. This trapping of heat leads to a warming of the world hence the term global warming. This increase in heat can lead to melting of the ice caps which in turn contributes to rising sea levels (What is Global Warming). The melting of the ice caps in the Arctic is destroying the habits of polar bears because when it comes to their habit specialization, they “rely heavily on the sea ice environment for traveling, hunting, mating, resting, and in some areas, maternal dens” (Advani). If we don’t make changes in our day to day lives to help aid the environment in its recovery, then polar bears might not be able to adapt fast enough to their changing environment.
The picture of the dying polar bear made me stop in my tracks because photographs are extremely powerful objects. I was no longer concerned with all of the hustle and bustle going on around me, and I just focused on the one photograph right in front of me. We live in a fast paced world where we don’t have an abundance of time to stop and think, so I greatly appreciated this one moment. This moment made my heart ache and made me realize that there are countless times in life we choose to ignore the important things going on around us. Sometimes we have a one track mind and don’t worry about anything else that is going on in the periphery. I am so glad that I stumbled upon this picture because it makes the current impact of global warming all the more real. In the end, we need to realize that our actions greatly affect the environment we live in because polar bears are just the tip of the iceberg. A decline in the population of polar bears can potentially cause a domino effect down the rest of the food chain and produce unimaginable catastrophic consequences. You should care because this world is your home and we can’t relocate to another.
-Emily Shafer