Putin Plays With Bears, Says Arctic Needs “General Clean Up”
Written by Vegetarian Star on May 4th, 2010 in Animal Issues, Environment-Eco-Green, Politicians.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made a stop by the Franz Josef Land, an island where scientists capture polar bears to collect data and tag them for surveillance before release back into the arctic.
While examining the giant creatures (a photograph of which can be found at The Guardian), Putin had this to say of the bear’s paws: “They’re heavy.”
Global warming has threatened several species on the island, including polar bears.
The tracking devices placed by researchers will allow them to monitor the extent the environmental change has had on the species.
According to Treehugger, the deputy director of Russia’s Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Vyacheslav Rozhnov said, “The reduction of the ice sheets, caused by climate change and human activities, is bringing about a global redistribution of polar bears, but no one knows how it is happening.”
Compounding this is barrels of discarded fuel left behind after the Cold War, a matter Putin says makes the arctic in need of a “general clean up.”
“From 40,000 to 60,000 tonnes of fuel and lubricants are being stored under inappropriate conditions, and the pollution exceeds maximum permissible levels by six times,” Putin said, according to The Guardian.
Rozhnov fears the pollutants from the leaking barrels of oil will threaten more animals, including whales and walruses.
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