No Ice, No Walrus

Global warming has far reaching consequences. A report from Russia highlights this. Walrus depend on ice sheets for respite. They cannot swim indefinitely. With lessen ice the herds of walrus are now congregating in enormous herds on shore. These herds number up to 40,000 walrus. When they are spooked they stampede and the death toll is staggering.

The Russian government reports that last summer and fall thousands of walrus above the Arctic Circle died from stampedes related to this over congregation.

The estimate is that 3000 to 4000 walrus were killed. Most died of internal injuries. Most of the fatalities were among the old and the calves.

This congregating on shore did not occur until the 1990s.

An additional concern is that with less ice the walrus will have to live close to shore during the warmer months. The result may be the destruction of shoreline foods necessary for other marine mammals.

Many in the U.S. demand that we use the phrase “climate change” as opposed to “global warming”. The implication is that it is not a man-made disaster. Ecosystems are faltering and crashing around the global. Don’t we have more important things to argue about than correct phrasing? Climate change or global warming there are still 4000 dead walrus.