Polar Bear: Climate Change. It's The Real Thing

Climate Change- IT'S THE REAL THING illustrates the effects right now that climate change is having on our planet.  Arctic sea ice is rapidly diminishing and the Polar Bear, an animal that has evolved for life on the ice, is in trouble.  Scientists believe that within this century, if we do nothing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, over two thirds of the world’s Polar Bears will be gone.  So why Coca Cola? The irony in this piece is that the Polar Bear has been the mascot for Coca Cola since 1922 and they have made billions from the use of it’s likeness to sell Coke.  Long after the ice is gone and the polar bear extinct, there will still be coke cans floating in the ocean.  Coca Cola has stepped up over the last 4 years raising two million dollars in partnership with WWF to create a refuge for polar bears where the last remaining sea ice will be.  That seems like lip service considering how much they have made over the years.  More importantly, that isn’t what is needed right now.  What we need is a wholesale cultural shift that demands that we make the necessary changes in our lifestyles to reduce the manmade causes of climate change.  Huge multinational companies like Coca Cola should be leading that charge.  Rather than creating refuges for Polar Bears to go when most of the ice is gone, how about digging in and saving the polar bear right now by reversing the clear scientifically proven cause of climate change?  Now that is the real thing. 

Artist: Rob Whitehair

Digital mixed media: Pencil on Procreate, Photoshop, Acrylic