Back in action!

The Burke Blog took a brief hiatus to prepare for the grand opening of The Last Polar Bear: Facing the Truth of a Warming World. This is a great new exhibit up now at the Burke Museum and doesn't close until December 31, 2008. Excerpts from the show are here:

All photos by Seattle photographer Steven Kazlowski.

Steven Kazlowski shares polar bear tales on KUOW

Posted by: Julia Swan

KUOW aired a fantastic interview with Seattle wildlife photographer Steven Kazlowski on today's Sound Focus.

In it, Steven shares some interesting and captivating stories about his very real encounters with the largest land carnivore on earth--the polar bear. He has been in much closer proximity to a wild polar bear than most people ever (hopefully) will and his accounts are fascinating.

Steven also has a very unique perspective on the politics of climate change and how the polar bear has recently become the face of this global issue, which he discusses with Sound Focus's Dave Beck.

If you missed the show, never fear, for KUOW is quick to put a podcast version of the interview online. You can find the podcast of "People and Polar Bears" here.

Meet Steven in person Saturday, June 28 at the Burke Museum's opening of The Last Polar Bear: Facing the Truth of a Warming World. Steven will be giving guided tours of the exhibit at 10:30 am and 12:30 pm.

- Julia

Facing reality, finally

Posted by: Julia Swan

Yesterday, the Interior Department announced its decision to list the polar bear as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. This action came as a result of intense lobbying from environmentalist groups, recommendations from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a court order from a federal judge to make an immediate decision, and overwhelming evidence that the Arctic sea ice on which polar bears hunt and live is rapidly disappearing.

Although the polar bear is the first species to be granted federal protections because of global warming, the repercussions of the decision on entities that contribute to the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere remains to be determined. At this point, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has stated that the polar bear decision will not impact regulation laws, oil exploration, or other activities that can contribute to global warming.

As for the remaining 20,000-25,000 polar bears currently living in the Arctic, the designation of threatened species status upon the largest living land carnivore on earth is both heartbreaking and hopeful. Perhaps the polar bear will join the list of dozens of other once-threatened species that, through concerted human efforts to protect and preserve, have experience a major revival.

- Julia

Photo top left: A polar bear sow and her cubs on the tundra (coastal area, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge), photograph by Steven Kazlowski/www.lefteyepro.com. On view in The Last Polar Bear: Facing the Truth of a Warming World, June 28 – Dec. 31, 2008, Burke Museum, Seattle.

Photo bottom right: Sow with cub on the pack ice of the frozen coastal plain (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge), photograph by Steven Kazlowski/www.lefteyepro.com. On view in The Last Polar Bear: Facing the Truth of a Warming World, June 28 – Dec. 31, 2008, Burke Museum, Seattle.

On thin ice

Posted by: Rebecca Durkin

If we don’t act now, “climate change is going to deal with us on its own terms, and we’re not going to have the options to deal with it on our terms,” says wildlife photographer Steven Kazlowski in his latest interview with KPLU’s environment reporter Liam Moriarty.

Kazlowski, the wildlife photographer behind the Burke’s upcoming environmental exhibit, The Last Polar Bear: Facing the Truth of a Warming World, talks about the devastating changes to the melting arctic ecosystem that he has seen firsthand tracking and photographing polar bears for eight years.

If you have ever wondered what it’s like to wake up to find a polar bear in your tent, take a listen.

- Rebecca

Is the Polar Bear endangered?

Posted by: Rebecca Durkin

We’re opening an exhibit in June about the impact of global warming on polar bears in Alaska – and with the status of the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act currently under review by the federal government, we’ve been keeping a close eye on the debate raging between climatologists, environmentalists, wildlife scientists, land developers, Alaskan residents, and government officials over its protection.

Some parties expect the protection of polar bears to do for global warming awareness and reform what the endangered status of the bald eagle did for pesticides reform, while others think it will wrongfully cripple Alaskan development. This issue is loaded with conflicting priorities and expectations, summed up nicely in NPR’s brief report by Elizabeth Arnold today. Take a listen to this crash course in the debate: “Polar Bear Isn’t Endangered.”

- Rebecca

Photo (c) Steven Kazlowski,www.lefteyepro.com. On view in The Last Polar Bear: Facing the Truth of a Warming World, opens June 8, 2008 at the Burke Museum.

International Polar Year launched

Posted by: Rebecca Durkin


Last week scientists across the globe kicked off International Polar Year. The IPY project will promote dozens of research projects and educational outreach programs to help advance knowledge about and awareness of polar issues.

The Poles might be distant, but they are far from irrelevant. While some scientists, such as the Burke Museum’s own curator of vertebrate paleontology Christian Sidor, study ancient life in polar extremes, others are researching the impact of the Poles on life today. Changes in polar ice sheets can affect global sea levels and can have a dramatic and immediate impact on the lives of Northern communities.

Of local interest, the Pacific Science Center is hosting Polar Science Weekend featuring the researchers from the University of Washington’s Polar Science Center.

- Rebecca

Antarctica in our lobby

Posted by: Rebecca Durkin

A new display filled with fossils from Antarctica is up in the lobby of the Burke Museum, placed just below the 9-foot-long fossil fish that greets incoming visitors with a ferocious, toothy grin.

Some of these objects are the result of a 2006 field work expedition by Burke curator of vertebrate paleontology, Dr. Christian Sidor, who studies and collects from this remote region, broadening the Burke’s collections to a new area of the world.

The fun part of the new display is the backdrop featuring an image of Christian weighted down by bulky layers and balancing on icy ground, standing on the Antarctic plain. His massive boots and Antarctic gear are also on display, giving you a sense of how researchers have to prepare in order to safely navigate the difficult Antarctic weather and terrain.





Next week, Christian is off to Africa for a month of field research with a team of collaborators investigating climate change and the fossil record in Niger.

- Rebecca