From the Porch
Sunbathing at the North Pole
Dwight Otwell

It's getting harder to catch and kill a polar bear.

That is one result of what many call global warming.

One Inuit Eskimo complained that it was tough for his daughter to find a polar bear to kill, which apparently is a rite of growing up for females as well as males in that northern culture.

The ice cap is shrinking, which makes it harder for polar bears to survive since they get much of their food by hunting seals on ice floes.

Anyway, the ice cap at the North Pole has shrunk by 25 % in 30 years, scientists say. That has opened up a northwest passage, at least part of the year, that ships could never previously travel.

The new passage cuts the distance between various places in the world by thousands of miles. So what do I think about the debate over whether global warming is a myth? I think there could be something to it. But I also see that throughout history as we know it, there have been warm and cold climate cycles. One cycle can last for decades before it changes.

There is only a little that I can do about global warming. I can try to conserve fuel. I drive an extremely clean burning hybrid car. I can tell you to do the same. I can urge our country and the world to start using alternative, clean fuels and make factories cleaner. Perhaps a big shot in China will see this column on the Internet and decide to try to move his country toward a cleaner environment.

In the meantime, some scientists say that in 30 or 40 years, the ocean around the North Pole may be warm enough for a swim.

All I can say is I'm glad I'm not an Inuit. Polar bears seem a little too tough to tangle with.

Perhaps one day I'll say, "Susan. Pack our bathing suits and tanning lotion. We're going to the North Pole."