If Polar Bears Are Screwed, We’re Screwed, Too
By Michael Frank, Adventure Journal on January 11th, 2012
Polar bears may die off at Hudson Bay if it doesn’t freeze. That’s grim news for the 950 bears that rely on the bay to solidify each winter, but there’s another part of this equation that should concern all of us, because the function of the massive Hudson Bay not freezing could disrupt Atlantic currents that bring warmth from the tropics to the shores of Europe. That’s right: Global warming could trigger partial global cooling, because if the Gulf Stream is cut off a great deal of Northern Europe could grow a heck of a lot colder, disrupting the lives of 500 million people, crops, and so on. The polar bears may be an early victim of this change, but it won’t stop with them.
