Last year a polar bear mother had to swim 687 kilometers to reach the sea ice for food. Her cub didn’t make it. Make an urgent gift today and help support our campaign to protect the polar bears and save the Arctic.

687 kilometers. That’s the longest a polar bear mother had to swim last year to reach the sea ice and hunt for food. Her cub did not survive the trip.
Things aren’t getting any easier. In fact, this year Arctic sea ice reached its lowest level in recorded history — smashing the 2007 record. Meaning that polar bear mothers had even farther to swim than last year.
Now scientists are saying the Arctic Ocean could see ice free summers in the next decade if current trends continue. That means there won’t even be anywhere for polar bear mothers to swim to find food.
But for Big Oil the melting Arctic is not a warning sign. It’s an invitation. These companies hope to cash in by drilling for more of the oil that is causing the warming in the first place. We can’t let that happen.
Help us protect polar bear mothers and their cubs by making an urgent gift today to support our campaign to declare the high Arctic a global sanctuary.
Our goal is to permanently ban oil drilling and industrial fishing in the Arctic and to establish the area around the North Pole as a ‘global commons.’
We’ve already mobilized over two million people from around the world to save the Arctic in the last six months. Momentum is on our side and the oil companies that want to drill are feeling the pressure.
Just a few weeks ago, Shell announced it was stopping its drilling program for this season after investing seven years and $5 billion. Thanks to Mother Nature, its own incompetence and the millions of people who have taken action to save the Arctic, its plans have been put on hold.
And while it was a moment to celebrate, the sea ice news makes the importance of our campaign all the more clear. Time is running out. Sea ice is melting at record rates and Shell will be back again next year. Carmen, we need your support to save the Arctic. We can’t do this without you. Make an urgent gift today and help support our campaign to protect the polar bears and save the Arctic.
Greenpeace doesn’t take a dime from corporations or governments. All we care about is doing what is necessary to save the Arctic. But our plans for the rest of this year and 2013 — along with the fate of the polar bears that call the Arctic home — all depend on your support.
I know our campaign may seem ambitious, but we’ve done it before. In 1991, a Greenpeace effort much like this one helped establish Antarctica as a world park and off limits to commercial extraction. With your support I know we can do it again and this time save the Arctic.
Polar bear mothers shouldn’t have to swim 687 kilometers for food.
For the Arctic,
Dan Howells Greenpeace USA Deputy Campaign Director
P.S. If the Arctic sea ice continues to melt and if the area around the North Pole isn’t put off limits to oil drilling, polar bears don’t stand a chance. Support our campaign to protect the polar bears and save the Arctic by making your most generous donation today.