Over the Edge + March 2, 2011 news 5 THE PSSA PRESENTS: March 2nd, at 2:30. Upstairs in the cafeteria. EAT DRINK AND BE CONTROVERSIAL THE DEATH OF CIVIL DISCOURSE Dr. Tracy Summerville will lead an informal discussion on Wednesday, pssst! womyn and grrrls'! you're invited to a safe space where you can learn about your monthly cycles, ways to stay healthy, alternative period- products-- and a whole lotta other stuff your mama & the health nurse never told you about! :scarlet tide brigade: offers up some cool DIY resources (info to take home) AND be you can be RAD and make a PAD! (funky fabric + supplies provided) :thurs march 3*° @ 7pm: {NUSC crash n‘ burn lounge - next to the pride centre) this workshop is totally free... searlet tide brigade north ia a grassroots, BIT, geeci-driven group devoted to womyn's health, we strive to share info and create awareness around issues of reprodoctive/sexual health, notably menstruation. STAN works against the negative corporate and cultural constructions of our natural cycles and we are alec concerned about the serious health, exvironmental and social famificationa of the “feminine hygiene” industry Scarlet tide brigade North brought te you PGP! RG cide UNBC and the northern women's centre Polar Bears Feel the Brunt of Cli- mate Change Polar bear birth rate is falling as the climate warms HANNA PETERSEN NEWS EDITOR L - While it may be big and look tough, the Polar Bear is an exceptionally vulnerable animal. Anew study from the University of Alberta reveals more reasons animal lovers, environmentalists, and the general public should be worried about the white northern bear. Researchers have predicted that as the ice melts on Hudson Bay, Polar Bears will have fewer cubs and more miscarriages. The devastation that difficulties reproducing could have on the already endangered bear is obvious. The study published Tuesday in Nature Communications warns that if the ice melts one month earlier than in the 1990s, 40 to 73 percent of females will not be able to carry their pregnancies to term. Sea ice on the Hudson bay has been breaking up about a week earlier per decade, the study notes. The link between the amount of ice available and the bear’s ability to carry pregnancies has to do with the bear’s amount of stored energy. Polar Bears hunt on the sea ice for seals, but as the weather gets warmer and the ice breaks up they are forced to go to shore earlier where there is little food available. The earlier the ice melts, the longer they go without food, and the more vulnerable their pregnancies are to miscarriage. The researches created a mathematical model that linked the date of sea ice melt the bear’s stored energy that they used to predict the number of cubs the bears would likely be able to have in the future. The researchers found that 55 to 100 percent of polar bears in the Hudson Bay region would not be able to have any cubs if the ice melts two months earlier than in the 1990s. It is normal for polar bears to have 1-3 cubs, but if the ice breaks up earlier and there is no food to support the pregnancies or milk for the cubs the birth rate will drop drastically. The paper concluded that “the western Hudson Bay population will not remain viable under predicted climate conditions”. The study led by biostatician Peter Moinair also linked the problem occurring in the Hudson Bay region, which is the southernmost population of polar bears, to other polar bear populations. As most polar bears hunt on the ice and move to the shore in warmer temperatures, if the climate continues to warm in the arctic regions other polar experience the same fate. &.*% CLOTHES = we.