Help Emperor Penguins Avoid a March to Extinction
Emperor penguins are icons of wild Antarctica. But climate change is rapidly melting the sea ice they need for survival, and these majestic birds are disappearing without the icy waters they need to raise their chicks and forage. Scientists predict that nearly half of the world's emperor penguins may disappear by mid-century if we don't make drastic cuts in carbon pollution soon.
The emperor penguin colony featured in the film March of the Penguins has declined by more than half, and penguins in other colonies are forced to climb up steep ice shelves to find nesting sites when sea ice is not available.
Melting sea ice, along with ocean acidification and industrial fisheries, threatens the availability of krill, a critical food source for emperor penguins.
Right now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is deciding whether to give emperor penguins protection under the Endangered Species Act -- protections that will help make the difference between survival and extinction.
Please take action to tell the Service to give emperor penguins the full protection of the Endangered Species Act before their march comes to an end.
I strongly support protecting emperor penguins under the Endangered Species Act.
[Your comment will be added here]
Emperor penguin colonies are already declining or vanishing in parts of Antarctica where sea ice is rapidly disappearing. The emperor penguin colony featured in the film "March of the Penguins" has already declined by half due to climate change, and the Dion Island colony in the Antarctic Peninsula has disappeared completely.
Scientists predict that nearly half of the world's emperor penguins may disappear by mid-century without drastic cuts in carbon pollution.
Warming ocean temperatures and melting sea ice in the Southern Ocean encircling Antarctica also diminish the availability of krill -- a key food source for emperor penguins. And industrial krill fisheries and ocean acidification resulting from sea water's absorption of carbon dioxide further threaten penguins' food supply.
Current regulatory mechanisms are not adequately reducing these threats. For this reason, I support listing emperor penguins as an endangered species with the full protections of the Endangered Species Act -- including protections from climate change, ocean acidification and overfishing.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
