Shrinking Arctic ice reduces natural habitat for polar bears

In tonight's Project Earth, polar bears may dominate the Arctic, but climate change now endangers them. Erin Hassanzadeh reports on how this threat should serve as a warning to us all. Oh, there you go. They are putting on quite a show for us today. They're putting on quite a show. Here on the edge of the Arctic, the annual migration of these polar bears draws tourists, photographers. They are sparring or play fighting. And scientists like Jeff Yorke. Buggies traverse this frozen terrain, bringing tourists closer to something truly wild. What were you expecting? To see polar bears. So it looks like we have a mom with a two-year-old. The polar bears pass through Churchill, Manitoba, hoping to catch a ride out of the tiny town on Hudson Bay's sea ice. We see what are most likely three males. After a summer of fasting on land, the bears need to get back to their frozen home to hunt seals and bulk up. They're just dreaming of ice and being back out there. But this migration ritual is changing. The Arctic is one of the fastest warming regions of the planet. Climate researchers say the Arctic is warming nearly four times faster than the rest of the globe, according to weather data. Climate scientist Flavio Lehner says that's melting the sea ice bears depend on. It's important because it's a complete transformation of the ecosystem. The Western Hudson Bay polar bears are off the ice for a month longer than their parents and grandparents. That hurts their hunting and ability to have healthy cubs that make it to adulthood, a change that has cut this population by up to half in 40 years. It's actually hard to find other places, maybe other than places that have been deforested in the Amazon, where you see such a stark change. But what happens up in the Arctic trickles down to all of us. If the sea ice disappears, the Arctic will warm faster and the planet will warm faster. Think of that ice like the Earth's air conditioner. It reflects light and heat away from our waters. Without it, the sun is absorbed and warms our oceans. Scientists say to slow the melting, we need to significantly cut emissions from fossil fuels. The Arctic is just an indicator for me of what's likely to come to all of us. It's nature's way of telling us we need to do something. A change even the kings of the Arctic are helpless to stop.