Bill Steigerwald

Of all the animals the Inuit traditionally hunted, Nanuk, the polar bear, was the most prized. Native hunters considered Nanuk to be wise, powerful, and "almost a man." Some called the bear "the great lonely roamer." Many tribes told legends of strange polar-bear men that lived in igloos. These bears walked upright, just like men, and were able to talk. Natives believed they shed their skins in the privacy of their homes.

-- Polar Bears International

This is a true story, except for everything that was made up to make it more dramatic or to mock someone. Any resemblance to real politicians, as well as any insult to the religious beliefs of global warming alarmists, is purely intentional.

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Grandpa Polar Bear was relaxing in his easy chair watching a special news report on TV called "Plight of the Polar Bears." As a mother bear and her cub stood forlornly on a tiny shrinking iceberg somewhere near the Arctic Circle, the dashing reporter from CNN sounded like he was going to cry.

"...because of global climate change, polar bears are suffering population losses and may soon become extinct. Rising temperatures are melting the sea ice earlier and earlier each summer, leaving the bears less time to hunt for their primary food - ringed seals. If we don't reduce our burning of fossil fuels soon, scientists say the only place our children will be able to see these magnificent creatures will be in a zoo or in a Walt Disney movie. For CNN, I'm Anderson Cooper."

"Extinct!?" Grandpa roared, slapping the arms of his leather chair with his huge paws. "Melting sea ice!? Shrinking bear populations? Who writes this junk science, Al Gore?"

"Don't get upset, Dad," said Mother, looking up from her latest copy of Reason magazine. "It's CNN. What do you expect? Fairness? Balance?"

"What were they saying about polar bears dying, Grandpa?" asked Junior, looking worried as he came in from the kitchen with a bottle of Coke.

"Nothing, Junior. Nothing," Grandpa grumbled. "Just a lot of make-believe."

After dinner, Grandpa read Junior a bedtime story. As Grandpa was about to turn off the nightlight, Junior asked, "Grandpa, why do you yell at the TV? The people in it can't hear you."

"I know," Grandpa said with a smile. "They live far away in New York and Washington. That's why they don't know anything about polar bears or the Arctic."

Junior looked anxiously at Grandpa. "Mother said your heart will get attacked if you keep yelling at the news."

Bill Steigerwald

