Due to the efforts of Thiago Maia and his team of assistants (Igor Vaz Maquieira and Márcio Calixto), I can now offer a Portuguese translation of my popular Polar Bear Facts & Myths science book for young readers in Brazil and Portugal.
Urso Polar Fatos E Mitos – agora disponível em Português!
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Posted in Book promotion, Life History, Summary, Uncategorized
Tagged facts, myths, polar bear, Portuguese, science book
This updated blog post of mine from last year is as pertinent now as it was then: it’s a fully-referenced rebuttal to the misleading ‘facts’ so often presented this time of year to support the notion that polar bears are being harmed due to lack of summer sea ice. Polar Bears International developed ‘Arctic Sea Ice Day’ (15 July) to promote their skewed interpretation of polar bear science at the height of the Arctic melt season. This year I’ve add a ‘Polar Bears and the Arctic Food Chain‘ graphic, which readers are free to download and share. For further information, see “The Polar Bear Catastrophe That Never Happened“.
Comments Off on 10 fallacies about Arctic sea ice & polar bear survival refute misleading ‘facts’
Posted in Conservation Status, Life History, Sea ice habitat, Summary
Tagged Arctic, Arctic sea ice day, facts, feeding, hunting, misinformation, myths, polar bear, sea ice, spring, summer, survival
Summer sea ice loss is finally ramping up: first year is disappearing, as it has done every year since ice came to the Arctic millions of years ago. But critical misconceptions, fallacies, and disinformation abound regarding Arctic sea ice and polar bear survival. Ahead of Arctic Sea Ice Day (15 July), here are 10 fallacies that teachers and parents especially need to know about.
The cartoon above was done by Josh: you can drop off the price of a beer (or more) for his efforts here.
As always, please contact me if you would like to examine any of the references included in this post. These references are what make my efforts different from the activist organization Polar Bears International. PBI virtually never provide references within the content it provides, including material it presents as ‘educational’. Links to previous posts of mine that provide expanded explanations, images, and additional references are provided.
Comments Off on 10 fallacies about Arctic sea ice & polar bear survival: teachers & parents take note
Posted in Conservation Status, Life History, Sea ice habitat, Summary
Tagged Arctic, Arctic sea ice day, facts, feeding, hunting, misinformation, myths, polar bear, sea ice, spring, summer, survival
Given my strong Dutch heritage through my maternal grandfather (via Middelharnis), I am especially proud to announce that the Dutch translation of my popular science book, Polar Bear Facts and Myths (suitable for children aged seven and up), is now available through Amazon worldwide in paperback.
The translation was done by native Dutch speaker Marcel Crok who is a journalist and science writer in The Netherlands (see @marcelcrok on twitter). In Dutch the book is called Feiten en Mythes over IJsberen.
Please pass along to your friends, relatives, and colleagues in North America and abroad. The English version is still available in paperback and ebook formats, and the Norwegian translation will be available shortly. Other translations in French and German are already available.
Children around the world have been led to believe that only a few hundred polar bears are left in the world. However, the relentless messaging that polar bears are doomed (and that this is all the fault of humans) is fortunately false. It is time that children learned the truth, including those that speak and read only Dutch.
Here is the good news the children need to hear: polar bears have not been driven to the brink of extinction by anthropogenic global warming. In fact, there are many more polar bears now than there were 50 years ago and the global population of polar bears is a healthy size, despite the fact that summer sea ice has been at levels predicted to cause catastrophe since 2007. Polar bears have managed just fine with low summer ice: against all expectations, their number have increased in recent years, not declined.
Polar Bear Facts & Myths is an uplifting science book about survival in the Arctic that is sure to please children and parents alike.
Details below. Continue reading
Comments Off on Fabulous polar bear science book for kids now available in Dutch
Posted in Book review, Life History
Tagged children, Dutch, facts, IJsberen, myths, Netherlands, non-fiction, polar bear, science, translation
Ten years of summer sea ice levels expected to kill 2/3 of the world’s polar bears by 2050 instead saw polar bear numbers grow. And this year, there are also two fabulous books about polar bears and their outstanding success story to celebrate on International Polar Bear Day (Monday 27 February 2017).
One is suitable for kids (Polar Bear Facts & Myths) and another for adults and teens who want the details (Polar Bears: Outstanding Survivors of Climate Change) – see the right sidebar to buy on Amazon or my author website for details on all additional formats. A couple of excerpts from them are below.
So forget turning down your thermostat in a pointless gesture to “reduce your carbon emissions and help polar bears” — as Polar Bears International advocates for Polar Bear Day. Instead, treat yourself or a friend and order a book with a rational approach to species survival.
Speaking of species survival, think about the inconsistency in how some species are treated according to the US Endangered Species Act (ESA). Humpback whale numbers recovered after decades of protection; in 2016, after the state of Alaska filed a petition to delist, most populations were officially removed from the ESA list of ‘threatened’ species.
Humpback whale and calf, NOAA image.
In contrast, by 2015, polar bear numbers had also recovered despite years of low sea ice loss not predicted until 2050, yet remain officially ‘threatened’ with extinction.
Fat bear family at Kaktovik, Alaska (Southern Beaufort), April 2016. USGS photo.
US National Marine Fisheries Service defended the delisting of humpback whales against activists who insisted human-caused global warming threatened the species, but the US Fish and Wildlife Service defends flawed polar bear prophesies.
Polar bears have not been driven to the brink of extinction by global warming. In fact, they are thriving (see my final conclusions on pg. 30 of Polar Bears: Outstanding Survivors of Climate Change, above and pg. 32 of Polar Bear Facts & Myths below.
If you’d like to support my efforts to bring this to everyone’s attention, please consider buying a copy or two of my books. If you’ve already done so, keep in mind that your local library might be glad to have copies donated. They also make great gifts.
Comments Off on Thriving numbers – & two great books – are ample reason to rejoice on Polar Bear Day
Posted in Advocacy, Conservation Status, Population, Sea ice habitat
Tagged celebrate, climate change, delist, excerpt, extinction, facts, global warming, humpback whale, International Polar Bear Day, myths, PBI, prophesies, survivors, threatened
My most requested public lecture, Polar Bears: Outstanding Survivors of Climate Change, has been hugely popular with audiences in my Canadian home town of Victoria, British Columbia, and my newly-released book with the same title (based on that lecture) promises to be similarly successful. Here are some thoughts on both.
Recently (5 January 5, 2017), I gave another free lecture about polar bears to a local non-profit organization through my university’s Speakers Bureau. I’ve been doing this since 2009, although the shear volume of requests has been much higher this past year than previously. As before, my lecture was warmly received and audience members asked questions indicating they had been listening with an open mind. A colleague I spoke to expressed surprise at that outcome, given where I live.
Keep in mind that Victoria is home to litigation-prone IPCC climate scientist turned BC provincial Green Party politician Andrew Weaver (in whose riding I happen to reside) as well as one of the many targets of fake Nobel Laureate Michael Mann and his over-sensitive ego, veteran climate scientist Tim Ball (who defends the defamation lawsuit filed against him by Mann at trial in Vancouver, B.C. 20 February 2017, an event which defender of free speech and fellow defendant against Mann’s litigious wrath, Mark Steyn, has said he’ll be attending). And yes, in a sort of home-town science brawl, Weaver also sued Tim Ball, but that case has not yet gone to court. Victoria is also the constituency of our lone federal Green Party Member of Parliament, Elizabeth May. Canadian journalist Donna Laframboise once described Victoria as “one of the most left-leaning corners of the country.”
So it is into this virtual lion’s den of anthropogenic global warming champions that I venture, several times a month, to enlighten adults, teachers, and students who have been left with the impression that there are only a few hundred starving polar bears left in the world.1
The secret to the kind of reception I receive – even in my town – is to present the relevant facts without emotional overtones and let audiences make up their own minds about what they think of the situation.
This latest lecture was not only well received but several audience members bought copies of my kid-friendly Polar Bear Facts and Myths that I had for sale (reviewed here by Kip Hansen). One member came up afterwards to say he’d been dreading what he’d anticipated would be another polar-bears-are-doomed diatribe but was very pleased at my even-handed, scientific approach.
That’s why I decided to fashion my first fully referenced polar bear science book – and take it’s title – from my most successful public lecture. Audience responses over the years indicated to me that a simple summary would be an appealing approach. Questions from audience members over the years suggested which topics might need a more detailed explanation in the book. The lesson I learned from my lecturing experience was that my book needed a focused style, plenty of color images, and an affordable price.
Consider the table of contents for the new book, where each chapter covers only a few pages:
1. Polar bear & sea ice basics
2. Feasting/fasting life of polar bears
3. Evolution & climate change
4. Conservation & protection
5. Failure of the polar bear predictions
6. Biggest threat to polar bears
7. Summary
8. Conclusions
I expect I’ll get some negative fake reviews posted on Amazon for Polar Bears: Outstanding Survivors of Climate Change from the self-appointed moral-high-ground troll network (as they did for Polar Bear Facts and Myths). That’s to be expected for a topic like this. Honest criticism from readers might also be generated, of course, and that’s something all writers can expect, and should welcome.
That said, the best way to counter biased or unconstructive reviews is with honest, heartfelt reviews from readers who have actually read the book. If any of you that have ordered a copy of this book but would like to see a pdf review document in order to post an immediate review, use the contact me form at “Comments/Tips.”
Both Polar Bears: Outstanding Survivors of Climate Change and Polar Bear Facts and Myths are now available in paperback and various ebook formats, including epub and pdf. The little spin-off for preschoolers (Polar Bears Have Big Feet) – because why shouldn’t the little kids have a fear-mongering-free polar bear book with great pictures too? – is available in paperback only.
Footnote
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Posted in Book review, Conservation Status, Population, Sea ice habitat
Tagged books, climate change, communication, conservation, facts, global warming, lecture, myths, polar bear, population size, predictions, science, status, threatened, Victoria
It’s here! The book that explains, in just enough detail, why polar bears are thriving despite the gloomy prognostications of the data collectors and future survivor modelers.
Here is all the science you need to know to understand contemporary polar bear issues of sea ice loss and species extinction. It contains the most up-to-date information available in an easy to digest format, with references to back it up. Continue reading
Comments Off on Announcing the release of Polar Bears: Outstanding Survivors of Climate Change
Posted in Book review, Conservation Status, Sea ice habitat, Summary
Tagged adults, Amazon, big feet, book, climate change, facts, myths, polar bear, predictions, preschoolers, survivors
If 10 years of summer sea ice levels expected to kill 2/3 of the world’s polar bears by 2050 hasn’t had an impact, why would anyone expect a bit less summer ice will do the job?
The more the polar bears fail to die in droves, the shriller the message from activist polar bear researchers – via willing media megaphones – that the great death of the bears will soon be upon us, just you wait and see!
Some big media guns were out this past week spreading the prophesy of doom fed to them by the polar bear researchers most committed to the “threatened with extinction” narrative: The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian. The desperation is becoming palpable as the public catches on to their epic failure.
In 2007, the sea ice dropped to a level the experts said wouldn’t be reached until mid-century, and since then, it has remained at that low level (about 3-5mkm2, give or take some measuring error). And in 2007, US Geological Survey (USGS) biologists said with absolute confidence that when sea ice levels reached that point, 2/3 of the world’s polar bears would be gone.
No bears at all would remain, they said, in Western Hudson Bay (the Churchill bears), Southern Hudson Bay, Foxe Basin, Davis Strait, Baffin Bay, Southern Beaufort, Chukchi Sea, Barents Sea, Kara Sea, and the Laptev Sea: ten out of 19 subpopulations would be extirpated if sea ice levels in most years dropped to the summer lows in the 3-5 mkm2 range.
On the basis of that prediction, polar bears were declared ‘threatened’ with extinction by the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
But nothing of the kind happened. There are still lots of polar bears – and not even struggling-to-survive bears but lots of fat healthy bears everywhere across the Arctic, in what were considered by USGS biologists to be the most vulnerable regions of all: Western Hudson Bay (i.e., Churchill), Chukchi Sea and Southern Beaufort (Alaska) and the Barents Sea (Norway).
This is the truth the world needs to hear: the experts were wrong. Polar bears have not been driven to the brink of extinction by climate change, they are thriving. This is the message of each of my two new books (one of which is appropriate for kids of all ages, see the sidebar).
In turns out that polar bears are much more resilient to changing levels of sea ice than data collectors assume and the proof is in the current healthy populations everywhere. Continue reading
Comments Off on As polar bear populations fail to decline with sea ice, message of doom intensifies
Posted in Advocacy, Sea ice habitat, Summary
Tagged advocacy, Beaufort, Chukchi, Churchill, declining population, declining sea ice, Derocher, extinction, facts, failed predictions, freeze-up, hype, Kaktovik, media, misinformation, myths, observations, polar bear, predictions, starving, Svalbard, threatened, USFWS, USGS, western hudson bay
The first science book suitable for kids that tells the whole truth about polar bears and climate change is now for sale at Amazon.
This beautiful, full color summary (44 pages, 8 x 10 inches) explains in simple terms why polar bears are thriving despite the recent loss of Arctic sea ice. It’s written in a question and answer format, in language that readers of all ages can understand (age 7 and up). The book takes a sensible, big-picture approach that many readers will appreciate and is based on the most up-to-date information available.
This is the perfect gift for some of the polar bear lovers on your gift list and if you act quickly (order here), your book may arrive before the 25th. At this time, only the paperback is available but some ebook versions should be out shortly.
For purchasers for which a pre-Christmas delivery isn’t going to work (publication will be later in Europe; shipping is faster to eastern Canada and the US than to the west), I have provided a gift card you can download to print off and give in lieu of the physical book (kind of a placeholder until it arrives).
UPDATE: 18 Dec. 2016 Now listed at Amazon Canada and Amazon UK
Download gift card PDF HERE for Polar Bear Facts & Myths
Download gift card PDF HERE for Polar Bears: Outstanding Survivors of Climate Change (coming soon, see below).
[Download Christmas gift cards, one per page, for both books here]
Check my book website for updates.
This color, fully-referenced polar bear science book is aimed at adults and high school students. Polar Bears: Outstanding Survivors of Climate Change is fashioned after the popular lecture with the same title I have given since 2009, which has been enthusiastically received by audiences with diverse backgrounds.
My book website now has full details of these new non-fiction books (along with a revised author biography) and will be updated regularly regarding formats and venues as they become available. Details for EATEN on that site has moved to its own fiction page.
Comments Off on Polar Bear Facts & Myths now available and may arrive in time for Christmas
Posted in Book review, Conservation Status, Life History, Sea ice habitat
Tagged book, children, climate change, extinction, facts, gifts, myths, polar bear, sea ice, students, summary, survivors, threatened
It’s just past the first anniversary of the publication of my science-based novel, EATEN, so satisfied readers may be pleased to learn that I have a pair of polar bear science books set to be released.
Finally – books for adults and children that present the facts about polar bears without spin and fear-mongering about model-predicted futures: reference books that include the most up-to-date information that show polar bears have the innate ability to adapt quickly to changes in sea ice.
Barring major revisions, the covers will look like this:
One is a fully-referenced book for adults and high school kids called Polar Bears: Outstanding Survivors of Climate Change.
The other is a fabulous companion or stand-alone summary volume (ages 7 and up), called Polar Bear Facts and Myths: A Science Summary for all Ages..
Both books are full-color and relatively short. With luck, they should be available next week, so stay tuned for details. Each will sell for well under US$20 (exact prices unknown).
Comments Off on Coming soon: the polar bear science books you’ve been requesting
Posted in Book review, Summary
Tagged announcement, books, climate change, facts, myths, polar bear, reference books, science, sea ice, survivors
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