How to bear the unbearable?
Seemorerocks
Seemorerocks
It is beyond my ability to find the words to describe the pain and distress this picture evokes in me. It break my heart to look at it but look I must.
For me this bear is emblematic for all life on the planet - all birds, mammals, fish and invertebrates - that are being destroyed by abrupt climate change unleashed on this world in a mad, suicidal quest for Infinite Growth.
It is this picture that the likes of Stephen Harper and his cronies does not want you to see. For him the destruction of this bear and all members of his species is a perfectly acceptable price to pay to keep going a paradigm that is dead but does not know it yet.
This image does not, alas, evoke tears in me but I feel a deep pain at the core of my Being that I am learning to live with and make peace with.
How to bear the unbearable?
....
....
POSTSCRIPT
For
all the doubting thomases who have been hiding out somewhere and
failed to notice that the planet is rapidly warming (see other
stories on this blog) and think that the photo was photoshopped, or
the bear is sick this is not the case.
If
you want to see the original story GO
HERE
For
those who believe that Stephen Harper Is not responsible and someone
else (the Chinese, Putin, or whoever) I will simply point their
attention to the tarsands and to the fact that scientists doing
research on the plight of the polar bears are being muzzled and the
results of their research suppressed
With tears and action, Robin. That's how I bear it. But, keep working it - you do a great service. All of us will need to keep their hankies handy as fossil fuel driven climate change continues unabated. But use the tears to fuel action.
ReplyDeleteAction begets reaction. It WILL end in tears - IF we don't get weapons! The time for politeness is well and truly over now!
Delete...on top of the Arctic now being open to drilling...
ReplyDeleteI surely hope someone intervened on behalf of this creature. We humans caused this creature to lose its feeding grounds, we should act to right the wrongs we have done.
ReplyDeleteIt's a Sin...to destroy what was created. I am a believer in Yah the Creator. As an artist which I am knows that if I created something as wonderful as this Earth I would get really pissed off at anyone who tries to destroy it with stupidity. We have passed the tipping point and are committing suicide of all things and can not stop the decline to the 6th Extinction.
ReplyDeleteGrowth will not be stopped, but we can insist and regulate growth that is environmentally responsible and that enhances the wholesome life of humans and all creatures with whom we share the Earth.
ReplyDeleteGrowth will stop, growth has to stop because growth is not sustainable. We live on a finite planet alone in the almost perfect vacume of space, there is no other earth out there within reach for us to occupy & destroy as we are doing to this one.
DeleteWe are headed for collapse of our excessive population & the economy, just our sheer mass is enough to cause the collapse as our agricultural system cannot feed endless population growth & climate change caused by rising C02 & methane levels will collapse our agricultural system which is already happening & has the climate becomes more hostile to us, crop failures will increase as will human deaths due to excessive heat.
We never "shared" our planet with those that co evolved with us, we TOOK what we wanted becoming the ONLY animal to cause the extinction of other living things.
Now we are in the process of killing the only planet we know of that can support our kind of life, a runaway greenhouse will kill most life on this planet including us.
I hope the corporations & politicians enjoyed the profits they gouged from this living planet, as you bleed her white, you too will die right along with her. Only our vast ruins & the bones of our dead will remain to blow away in the winds.
Where was this taken and when...it must be photoshopped...this is too unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteSorry.. but your cruise down the River DeNIAL is canceled. We worthless humans have been forcing animals into situations like this for generations. We are a backward thinking greedy and selfish bunch of scum for the most part. What we need are condoms and corks and fewer idiotic cultures and religions that make it sound like humans need to fertilize every egg we produce.
DeleteDo you know where this photo was taken and why this bear was starving? I would really like to know. He's obviously got ice, so where is his food supply?
ReplyDeleteHis food supply has vanished because of climate change and now they have to swim miles to try to find something to eat. Sadly the polar bear can't eat ice or snow and who knows how many cubs are dying because they are too young to keep up with adult bears and they drown or starve to death.
DeleteLiving in the high arctic as I do, I have to make two comments. The Inuit who have seen this pic, bc it's circulating on Social Media--say it is an old bear quite literally on it's last legs, one back leg is damaged. Two, there are some who say it's photo shopped bc the quality of the fur on the neck does not match that of the body.
DeleteThis is what the fossil fuel industry is doing.
ReplyDeleteit's not just the fossil fuel industry - a guy in japan invented a tabletop plastic converter to oil - does everyone use one NO. a new car is in the making with batteries that are refilled with WATER. a young boy created a way to help clean up our oceans - we can't blame everyone elese - every single person can do their part by stop being complicit and must change their habits - it isn't easy given the current state of affairs but we all need to do our part - it takes effort and a lot of people talk but don't do - carpool, buy the fuel efficient cars, get a basket and ride your bicycle to shop. stop buying food in styrofoam and plastic containers - support your local butcher or if you dont have one go to the counter in a larger store they wrap stuff in paper - your inconvenience means a cleaner environment
ReplyDeleteThis bear could be sick and the photo used to spell disaster where there is none. We do not know
ReplyDeletewhich is true.
We do actually know which is true. Some of us, however, have to pretend not to know so that we remain guilt-free in our giant SUVs as, after our twenty minute hot shower, we drive to the store to buy a peach in midwinter that was flown in from the other hemisphere, a peach to eat in front of the TV that we will dump on the trash heap when next year's model comes out. But I should not complain - some of us are so special that if the giant car and the peach destroy the earth, well, it was in the cause of bettering the lives of the special who deserve nothing but the best. Thank you from the bottom of my heart - your specialness has touched my heart and I bear you no grudges - you are worth the price.
DeleteThis picture, this suffering evokes tears in me and I hate the people who think this an acceptable cost of business.
ReplyDeleteThis is a horrible emotive image. However, the credibility of the image would is suspect. It needs a photo credit, to be attributed, verifiable. Otherwise it is , sadly, subject to challenge.... and is too bad for the cause.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Doug. It is an extremely emotional image, and I also agree with a lot of the comments. This looks like a very old polar bear, is that what this image is? Is it a starving bear? There is absolutely no doubt of humans negative impact on the world and so much of what we touch, no doubt. I in all fairness want to know more about this photo. I read a very credible article 4 days ago with the claim that polar bears are not as endangered as we are led to believe. What and who do you believe. I want more info on this picture.
DeleteThe bear is starving because the ice he needs to hunt from is gone, the seals he hunts also need to ice to give birth to their pups & for their pups to rest on until they are able to swim, without ice, both are doomed to extinction.
ReplyDeleteThe earth is dying because there are 7.3 BILLION humans & even more billions of their domesticated animals consuming the planet & polluting it, the earth is dying because 800 million people in the rich countries are burning so much fossil fuels that their C02 emissions has warmed the planet, acidified the oceans, destabilized methane an even more potent greenhouse gas that will speed up this potentially deadly warming that has begun the process of collapsing our agriculture that will then result in the deaths by starvation of billions of humans who will also be dying of excessive heat combined with water shortages because the demand for water by humans has become greater than the available supply.
All this because we refused to stop population growth while it was still possible to do so humanly instead, we chose unsustainable GROWTH & now comes the terrible fall.
The ice is NOT GONE. There is still a certain amount. Some up here say that the bears will adapt. Time will tell.
DeleteI am sympathetic to the climate change argument...however one picture of an emaciated polar bear is not proof of the entire species collapsing. This particular bear could have a disease etc...however keeping a close eye on the polulation is absolutely warranted ...
ReplyDeleteWho ever said it was proof of anthropogenic climate change? I was simply voicing my grief at the loss of life on the planet. if you are still unconvinced look at the evidence elsewhere on this blog which abounds in spadefuls. If that fails to convince you then good luck to you. In the end the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
DeleteFor all of you doubting the legitimacy of this photo, here is the original source: http://www.arctic-dreams.com/en/news;1.0.0.0/page0/id22.html The photographer is Kerstin Langenberger and her other photos are interesting, too. The bear in the picture is actually a female. Most of the really thin ones that are being observed are female, because they have to make their dens on land. The sea ice is melting and they end up staying on land closer to the dens, but where the food is much scarcer. Some of them do attempt to swim and forage, but with the sea ice chunks becoming fewer and farther between, they exhaust themselves, further depleting their fat stores. This is a sad reality. I know it's horrific and unbelievable, but it's really happening. :(
ReplyDeleteYou might want to check this blog. You'll see factual reporting from a professional not trying to twist things for money. I subscribe to this myself to keep informed. This recent one shows a picture of a fat polar bear that's pregnant. Links within the blog shows who took the picture and there's more pictures to see.
ReplyDeletehttp://polarbearscience.com/2015/08/25/arctic-basin-polar-bears-researchers-spot-fat-pregnant-female-from-icebreaker/#more-68092
you think someone would create artificial icebergs and place them in the ocean to help them or hunt a whale once in awhile to feed them
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteHarper is so far down the list of people to blame. Our world is changing rapidly and it iis up to ALL of us to make a difference. What are YOU doing to make a difference? Stop blaming, start changing.
ReplyDeleteFor your information the 'devloped' countries still represent the bulk of greenhouse emissions and China's emissions are largely a result of exporting emissions by using it as a source of slave-produced goods. This was certainly the case when it was still possible to make a difference. Unfortiunately, that is no longer the case and climate change has taken on a mind of its own and is both exponential and irreversible. I will continue to put Harper and Abbott at the top of the list.
DeleteThis animal has a disease - and it is not starvation! More likely, this animal is dying of complications of natural senescence. There is an abundance of evidence that the polar bear population is thriving. This photo is like taking a photo of a centenarian in a nursing home and using it to claim the entire human population is succumbing to GMO contamination!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thegwpf.org/.../upl.../2015/02/Crockford-2015.pdf
Yes up is down, the climate's cooling and the oceans are sinking....yeah right. And the polar bears are thriving in the midst of meling ice and loss of habitat. All very logical if that's what you choose to believe.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteHarper's not to blame. If people on this blog are seriously looking for change then please feel free to head over to China, India and Pakistan. Let the boys over there know how you feel and what you intend to do about it.
ReplyDeleteFOR THOSE WHO HJVE FAILED TO NOTICE THAT THIS PHOTO IS GENUINE AND NOT AN INDIVIDUAL "SICK BEAR" PLEASE GO TO - http://robinwestenra.blogspot.co.nz/2015/08/bearing-unbearable-follow-up.html - TO FIND THE ORGIN OF THIS PHOTOGRAPH
ReplyDelete