Polar bears are well adapted to life in the chilly3 Arctic. They burrow4 into the snow to avoid icy winds. They hunt seals5 from the edges of the sea ice. They stay warm by eating up to 100 pounds of fat in one sitting6.
Lately, however, something is happening in the Arctic that the massive7 bears aren’t suited for. The Arctic temperature is rising. Warmer temperatures are melting the sea ice, which polar bears stand on while hunting.
“Polar bears are in trouble,” explains wildlife expert Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity. “They need the Arctic sea ice to live.”

Arctic Meltdown8
What’s turning up the heat? Most scientists say global warming is to blame. Global warming is the gradual increase in Earth’s temperature. It is caused by gases, such as carbon dioxide9, caught in Earth’s atmosphere. Those gases trap the sun’s heat close to Earth.
Global warming’s effect is especially obvious in the icy Arctic. The polar region currently has the lowest amount of sea ice ever recorded, according to Mark Serreze of the National Snow and Ice Data Center.“Compared to 1979, we’ve lost an amount of ice considerably larger than all of the states east of the Mississippi River,” Serreze told WR News.
Polar bears aren’t the only mammals10 at risk. Some native people are having a harder time finding seals and other animals they rely on for food. Rising seawater is destroying some villages on the coasts of Alaska and Russia.

Cool Solutions
The situation is scary, but it’s not too late to help, Siegel told WR News. She is urging the U.S. government to put polar bears on the endangered species list. Animals on that list are protected from hunting and other threats.
In the meantime, people can help make a difference11 by reducing the amount of fossil fuels they use, scientists say. Burning fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, gives off gases that add to the overheating of Earth.“The situation in the Arctic can be turned around12 if we change our habits,” Serreze says.

Growing Up In the Arctic
Hi! My name is Kenneth-John Putulik. I go to Victor Sammurtok School in Nunavut, a territory in Canada. My town, Chesterfield Inlet13, is special because it is the oldest community in Nunavut.
In the winter, we get lots of snow. We get a lot of blizzards14, sometimes with winds blowing 50 to 70 miles per hour. We stay warm by wearing handmade clothing, including sealskin mitts15. We also wear handmade boots, that are made from caribou skin or sealskin.
In the early spring, we have almost 24 hours of daylight. That is the time of year I enjoy the most because we get to stay out late and do more activities outdoors.
We get our food supply from hunting. We collect berries16 and freshwater from the lakes. We eat caribou, seals, walrus17, fish, polar bears, musk oxen18, whales, geese, goose eggs, mussels, and, of course, store-bought food.
I love where I live because our community is small, and we have good supportive elders teaching us our culture and language. We live and grow up together as one big family.

Arctic at a Glance
Geography: The United States, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, and Canada are partly located within the Arctic Circle.
Culture: Many people who live in the Arctic are Inuit19. Inuit people are native to the region. About 160,000 Inuit live in the Arctic.

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北极熊很适应北极寒冷的生活。它们在雪中打洞以躲避刺骨的冷风。它们在海冰的边缘捕捉海豹。他们靠一顿吃多达100磅的动物油脂来保暖。
但是，最近北极发生的变化却令这些体形庞大的熊无法适应。北极的气温正在升高，升温导致海冰融化，而北极熊是需要站在冰面上捕猎的。
“北极熊遇上了麻烦，”生物多样性中心的野生动物专家凯西·席格尔解释说，“它们的生存离不开北极的海冰。”

北极告危
升温的原因何在？大多数科学家认为全球变暖是元凶。全球变暖是指地球温度的逐渐升高，因二氧化碳等气体被困于地球的大气层所导致。这些气体把太阳的热量截留在地球表面。
全球变暖效应在寒冷的北极尤为显著。据国家冰雪数据中心的马克·赛瑞兹所说，目前极地区域的海冰已降至有记录以来的最低点。“与1979年相比，我们损失的冰比密西西比河以东各州的总面积还要大很多，”赛瑞兹告诉《每周文摘》。
北极熊并非惟一处于危险中的哺乳动物。一些土著居民寻找赖以为生的海豹和其它动物的难度更大了。上升的海水正在摧毁阿拉斯加和俄罗斯海岸的一些村庄。

冷静应对
形势虽相当骇人，但是还没到不可救药的地步，席格尔对《每周文摘》说。她正敦促美国政府将北极熊放到濒危物种名单上。该名单上的动物均受到保护，严禁狩猎和遭受其它形式的危害。
同时，科学家们说，人们可以通过减少矿物燃料的使用来改变现状。燃烧煤、石油和天然气等矿物燃料所释放的气体加剧了全球过热。“如果我们改变习惯的话，北极的状况是可以逆转的。”赛瑞兹说。

长在北极
大家好！我叫肯尼斯·约翰·普图里克。我在加拿大努纳乌特的维克托·萨木托克学校上学。我的故乡小镇切斯特菲尔德湾是一个特别的地方，因为它是努纳乌特最古老的社区。
冬天我们这里下很多的雪。暴风雪很多，有时候风速达每小时50到70英里。我们穿手工制作的衣服保暖，包括用海豹皮做的连指手套。我们穿的靴子也是手工制作的，是用北美的驯鹿皮或海豹皮制成的。
早春的时候我们几乎看不到黑夜。这是我最喜欢的季节，因为我们可以在外面呆到很晚，进行更多的户外活动。
我们靠打猎来获取食物。我们从湖中收集鱼卵和淡水。我们吃北美驯鹿、海豹、海象、鱼、北极熊、麝牛、鲸鱼、鹅、鹅蛋、贻贝，当然了，还有从商店购买的食物。
我热爱我生活的地方，因为我们的社区不大，我们有很好的长辈，他们扶持我们，向我们传授本土文化和语言。我们一起生活和成长，就像一个大家庭。

北极一瞥
地理：美国、俄罗斯、芬兰、瑞典、挪威、冰岛、格陵兰岛以及加拿大的部分领土都位于北极圈内。
文化：生活在北极的人很多是因纽特人。因纽特人是北极的土著居民。大约有16万因纽特人生活在北极。
 

1. on thin ice 如履薄冰（双关语，既指全球变暖造成北极冰雪融化，也指形势危急）
2. Arctic   n. 北极，北极圈
3. chilly    adj. 寒冷的
4. burrow   v. 挖地洞
5. seal  n. 海豹
6. in one sitting 一次，一下子
7. massive   adj. 厚重的，大的
8. meltdown   n.（非正式用语）灾难
9. carbon dioxide 二氧化碳
10. mammal   n. 哺乳动物
11. make a difference 有影响，起作用
12. turn around 转变，逆转
13. inlet   n. 水湾
14. blizzard   n. 暴风雪
15. mitt   n. 连指手套
16. berry   n. 动物卵，鱼卵
17. walrus   n. 海象
18. musk ox 麝牛
19. Inuit   n. 因纽特人（北美和格陵兰的爱斯基摩人）