The Polar Bear
Opening hook - Introduction
* Polar bears are the largest land carnivores in the world
* are only found in the Arctic
* The World Conservation Union (IUCN) estimates that there are between
20,000-25,000 polar bears in the world
* So why are they endangered?
* Less than a decade ago, most populations of polar bears were considered healthy,
even growing. But climate change is impacting the population of this Arctic icon
* polar bears are actually marine mammals, and spend much of their time on Arctic
sea often ice hundreds of miles from land
* Climate change is melting their icy habitat, making it increasingly
difficult to travel, hunt and raise their young. The sea ice they depend on
melts earlier each spring and forms later each fall.
Paragraph 2 - Related reasons
* Oil and gas development also pose a major risk to polar bears
* threat of oil spills can come not only from oil and gas development but
increasingly from unregulated arctic shipping
* oil spill would not only harm polar bears, but could also deplete their prey and
contaminate their habitat
Conclusions - Rounding off
* Without help, polar bears could disappear from U.S. shores by 2050. Paragraph 1 - Key reasons