ShmoopTube

00:03

[Dino and Coop singing]

00:14

Climate change brings all sorts of problems to people, from drastically higher temperatures… [Woman on the street sweating]

00:18

…to increasingly frequent storms… [It starts raining and the woman runs inside]

00:20

…to heavier flooding. [Water appears]

00:21

So, uh…never invite climate change to a birthday party… [The room floods and the birthday cake floats away]

00:24

And the dangers of climate change aren't just a threat to people… [Woman lifting a water damaged chair out her apartment]

00:27

Nope, nasty ol' climate change also affects animals.

00:31

And sure, animals don't have to clean out flooded basements, but they still have it [Polar bear carrying out flood damaged stuff in a wheelbarrow]

00:35

pretty bad…if not worse.

00:37

One species that's having a super rough time dealing with climate change?

00:40

The polar bear.

00:42

Sea ice is extremely important to polar bears' lives. [Polar bear stood on ice]

00:45

After all, their main prey is seals, and polar bears hunt seals from…you guessed it…sea [Polar bear jumps into the sea chasing a seal]

00:50

ice.

00:51

Unlike orcas, polar bears aren't aquatic hunters, who can attack in the ocean… [Polar bears swimming away from an orca]

00:56

…and unlike humans, they don't have helicopters, or high-powered rifles, or even sandwiches, [Polar bears in a helicopter, one of them holding a rifle]

01:00

so yup…sea ice is kind of a huge deal.

01:03

However, due to the rapidly changing climate, sea ice is melting more and more quickly. [The sun comes up and the piece of ice the polar bear is standing on begins to shrink]

01:08

That means not only is there less and less sea ice from which the polar bears can hunt…

01:12

…but it also means they have to swim farther and farther to get to the next sheet of sea [Polar bear swimming to sea ice]

01:16

ice.

01:17

And even if you're a polar bear, swimming for a long time in Arctic water is no picnic. [Picnic table with food on it falls in to the sea]

01:20

If you don't believe us, give it a try. [Man in diving suit jumps into the sea from a patch of sea ice]

01:24

But only if you don't mind turning into a popsicle in about five seconds. [Diver floats back up in a block of ice]

01:27

With this reduced access to food and the increased difficulty of even finding places to hunt, [Polar bears chasing after a seal]

01:32

fewer polar bear cubs are surviving, and polar bears are getting thinner and thinner. [Small polar bear jumps into the ice and a gravestone appears]

01:36

And it's not just polar bears being affected…

01:38

Take snowshoe hares, for example.

01:40

They change their fur from brown to white as fall turns into winter…

01:44

…and then when spring hits, their fur changes back, from white to brown. [Hare changing the color of it's fur]

01:47

Great camouflage most of the time…

01:50

…but as climate change happens and winter get milder, some hares find themselves turning

01:54

white, even though there isn't any snow around. [White hare in the rain]

01:57

And that's not just unfashionable; it's deadly.

01:59

However, there is hope. [Wolf chasing after a hare]

02:01

Scientists believe that over time, snowshoe hares could evolve, and their fur changing

02:05

cycles could line up with the new reality of the seasons brought by climate change.

02:09

Maybe if they had better access to dye jobs at hair salons they'd be a lot safer right [Hare getting it's fur dyed]

02:13

now…

02:14

And we're sure the polar bears would appreciate it if we would all do our part to reduce climate [Polar bears protesting outside the White House]

02:18

change…

02:19

That means buying energy efficient products, conserving energy at home and at work, planting [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

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trees, recycling, carpooling or taking public transportation instead of driving, et cetera

02:28

et cetera et cetera…

02:29

And sure, that might sound exhausting, but isn't it worth it to see the happy look on [Small polar bear resting on it's parent]

02:33

this lil' guy's face?

02:34

Aw…so cute…

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