Endangered Polar Bears.... NOT! (Fairbanks, Barrow: homes, calculation, camp)

[starlite9]

Figured I would start this post, getting tired of the "Tree Hugger" type that keeps blasting away with false facts about Alaska and the oil fields and their attempts to stop all exploration here.

First of all, in the states, you guys have been misled about ANWR, it is a very harsh place, same as the Prudhoe Bay Oil Fields. They claimed that the Caribou would die off when they started drilling... The heard went from about 5,000 when they started in the early 70's to about 25,000+- today...

I work on the water up here in the oil fields on boats (summer the water is open for about three to four months, we get about two to three polar bear sightings a day, I get lot of photos and so far, we haven't seen a "Starving" Polar Bear.

The reason they are "Endangered" is so the environmentalist can shut down oil exploration, same as they did with the spotted owl for logging. It wasn't endangered, but by the time people came to their senses, most of the companies were out of business. The current population of Polar Bears in Alaska has been increasing for the last thirty years to the point there is almost too many, that doesn't mean they were going to be hunted, that means they will over kill their food base and starve until they make a cycle like all animals do.

You are paying some four to five bucks a gallon, ANWR is not the same as they show you in photos, it is flat, barren and the oil footprint is a small spot on a map. The Democrats claim it will take ten years to bring off shore oil to market.... Well point of fact is that it took three and a half years to built the Trans Alaska Pipeline to bring oil to market, that was 800 miles, two mountain Ranges and some two major rivers (Including the Yukon) and thousands of streams and creeks. They tell you ten years so that you will believe that allowing oil drilling will not be any kind of an effect on prices.

Well Bush said drill and the price of oil dropped thirty dollars on the fears that we would, they are waiting to find out if congress will allow it too, if they don't then the speculators will drive the prices though the roof and ten bucks a gallon will really kill you. The taxes that the Democrats are wanting to nail the oil companies for will be passed on to you at the pumps, they don't pay taxes, you do...

Anyway, would like to hear of all the views on this, would love to inject some truth to those that fully believe that the Polar Bears are in fact going extinct or endanger of doing so do to the false claim of "Global Warming" which is now "Climate Change" because the warming has slowed or even stopped... which of course a fraud. They swim like fish and will swim for hundreds of miles. The photos of some polar bears standing on a small iceberg and being endangered to get people to donate for a wildlife fund is a tear jerking scam. They use the ice to take a break, if the ice disappeared, the seals would haul up on the beaches like they do everywhere else, then the polar bears would eat them there too. Just like they do to the Caribou when they come ashore for something a bit different.

[DannyL]

well, they're endangered around here. We haven't seen one in like......forever.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by DannyL

well, they're endangered around here. We haven't seen one in like......forever.

Polar bears are endangered around Fairbanks, too

[dre71]

Starlite9 you are correct about everything you said. These nut cases will not rest until america dies(god forbid) we have to ride bikes and no factories,cars,oil come on . We do so much good for this world creating 30% of wealth and such and are still labeled bad guys polluting and killing animals, etc. I commend the people of alaska and their conservative views they put their people first thats whats real important not some bear(that isn`t endangered anyways). I hate this green movement they keep shoving it down our throats like florescent light bulbs(mandatory in afew yrs) with mercury, taxs to save a animal and much more. Im a small town texan and we cant even build a real border fence cause there is a small wearthless wetland.

[Barkingowl]

I don't think I've ever seen a polar bear in NC. But can you post some more pics of them, Starlite?

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by starlite9

First of all, in the states, you guys have been misled about ANWR, it is a very harsh place, same as the Prudhoe Bay Oil Fields. They claimed that the Caribou would die off when they started drilling... The heard went from about 5,000 when they started in the early 70's to about 25,000+- today...

You have more misinformation than average, and in fact got almost nothing right in that particular article!

For example, it is true that the Central Arctic caribou herd increased in size. You failed to state that the CAH has a huge range, and even though it once used the area near today's oil infrastructure for calving, today the herd avoids that area.

Even though there are 5 or 6 times as many animals in the entire herd the number using the area at Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk has decreased. With 5 times more animals one would expect a significant increase if oil infrastructure is not a deterrent to caribou, eh?

"Conservative calculations yielded an estimated 78% decrease in
use by caribou and a 90% decrease in their lateral movements
(Cameron et al. 1995), all changes apparently in response to
intensive development of the Prudhoe Bay to Kuparuk oil field
region over the past 3 decades.

Raymond D. Cameron, Walter T. Smith, Robert G. White, and Brad Griffith
Section 4: Central Arctic Caribou Herd - Part 1 - Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain Terrestrial Wildlife Research Summaries (http://www.absc.usgs.gov/1002/section4part1.htm - broken link)

And anyone who believes Global Warming is not happening has blinded themselves to facts. Nobody that lives along the Arctic Ocean coast doubts it a bit!

[starlite9]

Originally Posted by RayinAK

Polar bears are endangered around Fairbanks, too

Well you are right, but just barely....

This last year they killed a charging polar bear in Ft. Yukon on the Yukon river just north of Fairbanks and he was well fed... That is about a stones throw North of you and five hundred miles south of where they aren't suppose to be... Seems they don't just like the water anymore and are pretty adaptable. When they swim in from the ocean, they roll in the mud to make themselves look brown, then they can sneak up on Caribou, pretty smart verses people wearing florescent orange!

[Alaskapat528]

Originally Posted by Floyd_Davidson

You have more misinformation than average, and in fact got almost nothing right in that particular article!

For example, it is true that the Central Arctic caribou herd increased in size. You failed to state that the CAH has a huge range, and even though it once used the area near today's oil infrastructure for calving, today the herd avoids that area.

Even though there are 5 or 6 times as many animals in the entire herd the number using the area at Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk has decreased. With 5 times more animals one would expect a significant increase if oil infrastructure is not a deterrent to caribou, eh?

"Conservative calculations yielded an estimated 78% decrease in
use by caribou and a 90% decrease in their lateral movements
(Cameron et al. 1995), all changes apparently in response to
intensive development of the Prudhoe Bay to Kuparuk oil field
region over the past 3 decades.

Raymond D. Cameron, Walter T. Smith, Robert G. White, and Brad Griffith
Section 4: Central Arctic Caribou Herd - Part 1 - Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain Terrestrial Wildlife Research Summaries (http://www.absc.usgs.gov/1002/section4part1.htm - broken link)

And anyone who believes Global Warming is not happening has blinded themselves to facts. Nobody that lives along the Arctic Ocean coast doubts it a bit!

====================================

And anyone who believes Global Warming is not happening has blinded themselves to facts. Nobody that lives along the Arctic Ocean coast doubts it a bit![/QUOTE[/b][/b][/b]]

Well Floyd can you please talk to Al Gore then and let him know that his $30,000 per year electricity bill for just ONE of his homes is contributing greatly to global warming.

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by Alaskapat528

Well Floyd can you please talk to Al Gore then and let him know that his $30,000 per year electricity bill for just ONE of his homes is contributing greatly to global warming.

So discussing anything relevant is not what you wish to do?

You posted a very false and misleading article, and won't discuss the details. Hmmm...

[starlite9]

Originally Posted by Floyd_Davidson

You have more misinformation than average, and in fact got almost nothing right in that particular article!

For example, it is true that the Central Arctic caribou herd increased in size. You failed to state that the CAH has a huge range, and even though it once used the area near today's oil infrastructure for calving, today the herd avoids that area.

Even though there are 5 or 6 times as many animals in the entire herd the number using the area at Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk has decreased. With 5 times more animals one would expect a significant increase if oil infrastructure is not a deterrent to caribou, eh?

"Conservative calculations yielded an estimated 78% decrease in
use by caribou and a 90% decrease in their lateral movements
(Cameron et al. 1995), all changes apparently in response to
intensive development of the Prudhoe Bay to Kuparuk oil field
region over the past 3 decades.

Raymond D. Cameron, Walter T. Smith, Robert G. White, and Brad Griffith
Section 4: Central Arctic Caribou Herd - Part 1 - Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain Terrestrial Wildlife Research Summaries (http://www.absc.usgs.gov/1002/section4part1.htm - broken link)

And anyone who believes Global Warming is not happening has blinded themselves to facts. Nobody that lives along the Arctic Ocean coast doubts it a bit!

I love chatting with people like you that are really clueless to what I am standing in the middle of. We have Caribou passing though camp every day sometimes by the hundreds and occasionally thousands, they pay no attention to us. Yet folks like you claim they are endangered by the Trans Alaska Pipeline, yet they lay under it during the summer on the few hot days we have here to get shade since it is the only shade around. Not only do they not care about people here, they calve within yards of the drilling rigs which you can't fathom because of your views. Fact is, they do very well with oil production in their back yard.

This post is about the "Endangered Polar Bears" that aren't, if you want me to start one on the Caribou, I have hundreds of photos to prove that your types are full of hot air and believe in the "Reverend Al Gore and his Church of Global Warming"... wait, that is "Climate Change" now since Global Warming trends have stopped... They want to be relevant I suppose.

But would love to see any proof that you have that is factual, not some guy in Southern CA saying it is "so" that has never see the "Wild" in the first place. Where I work every day is not like they claim on TV or in the bogus ads to get people to donate money to help the poor bears... that is a scam and too many "Sheeple" fall for it.

For one, I am sick and tired of the "Tree Huggers" lying to the pubic and being militant to the point of being stupid. That is why I started this post, to pop a few balloons at your party.

As far as the 78% decrease you claim, that is pure bunk you have been fed, plain and simple and you have clearly bought into it. I am "IN" the Kuparuk oil fields, and can assure you that they are doing very well here.

It is people like you that have us making our food into fuel and starving people in Third world countries so you can feel good about driving a little car that can't get out of it's own way. We have more oil that the Mideast countries here in America and we are paying people that hate us billions and billions of dollars to keep us "Pristine", that is insane reasoning.

You say you live in Barrow, I really doubt it, if so you would know that the polar bears are a real pain during the Whaling season right in town, one year when I was there, ERA Helicopter was herding about thirty out of town off a whale kill. The Caribou there are a bit scarce because of the locals hunting them, where in the oil fields they are not allowed to be hunted, thus the large numbers. Matter of fact, they just had some 140 Caribou slaughtered by the locals just a bit west of there, didn't use the meat, just killed them for fun. Had that happened in the Oil Fields, they would be throwing ropes over trees if we had any... There, nothing will happen because the "Elders" won't help the Police turn in the killers.