(Related Information)
USA: Alaska
In Alaska
and across the Arctic, the average amount of sea ice has
been decreasing during the past few decades. This could be
huge trouble for polar bears, which live and hunt primarily
on sea ice.
About 4,700 polar bears live in Alaska, U.S. officials say.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recommended the polar
bear be placed on the Threatened Species list.
Alaskan residents also are dealing with a changing
environment. Temperatures in the state, which is twice the
size of Texas, have warmed more than 3 degrees in the past
50 years and residents are seeing the expensive consequences
of melting permafrost, which causes soil erosion and some
flooding. Scientists say what happens in the state,
one-third of which lies within the Artic Circle, is a
harbinger of what might occur in the contiguous U.S.
