Here’s a stupid question for you – which can see better, Shell or a polar bear? Well, a quick Google search says a polar bear’s eyesight is pretty similar to human sight, which means it's a lot better than a human inside a polar bear costume... Which is where I was this morning.
That's right - we went back to the Shell garage in Dorchester for another protest against their plans to drill for oil in the Arctic, and this time we had a polar bear costume with us which I, rather excitedly, got to wear and dance around in. Being a bit shorter than the suit I looked like a polar bear that needed feeding - or perhaps one that had been for a very long swim. Of course, polar bears are known for being great swimmers, but as the ice in the Arctic melts polar bears have to swim greater distances to reach the ice flows. Last year scientists recorded a record-breaking swim of 11 days by a female polar bear. The polar bear found land and survived but the scientists also believed she had had a cub with her at the beginning of that exhausting swim - and it hadn't made it.
That's the reality of climate change. The polar bear suit was very fun, and it served its purpose by attracting attention - but our cause is nothing but fun. There's little expectation that polar bears will manage to adapt to survive the extremes of climate change, and as the Guardian recently reported, this years rate of Arctic ice loss has been 50% worse than expected. Time is running out, if it hasn't already run out, for the polar bear.
Some, however, appear to see this catastrophe (which also promises to be a human catastrophe - the Global Humanitarian Forum estimates that as many as 300,000 people per year are already dying as a result of climate change) as an opportunity. Shell, a company that should feel a great deal of responsibility for its role in creating this devastating situation, is poised to drill for oil in the melting Arctic. Burning that oil will make climate change worse, and an oil spill in the Arctic, a pristine but hostile environment where clean up plans are null-and-void, would be devastating for species already on the brink of extinction. The politest way to describe such monstrously irresponsible plans would probably have to be ‘short-sighted’… The writing is well and truly on the wall, but Shell appears to be ignoring it.
The audacity of Shell's actions have prompted a big response both from Greenpeace, which has launched one of its largest campaigns to protect the Arctic, and from regular people who are joining in acts of protest. This - our third protest outside the Shell in Dorchester - the second this month, was joined by yet more new volunteers wishing to express their disgust at Shell’s plans.
So, here’s my question answered: polar bears can see just fine - it’s Shell that’s got the problem, but we’re not going away until they see.
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