By Tim Saunders on
Transformers star Josh Duhamel traveled to the shore of the Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba, earlier this week to raise awareness of the plight of polar bears.
The star joined scientists Dr. Ian Stirling and Dr. Steven Amstrup, members of the Scientific Advisory Council of Polar Bears International – a non-profit organization devoted to worldwide conservation of the polar bear through support of research and education – as part of their Thermo-STAT project.
“I’m blown away by the beauty of seeing these awesome creatures up close and personal,” said Duhamel. “I wanted to see the effects of climate change and confront the contradictory claims about polar bears first-hand. The plight of the polar bear is a symbol of what’s going on globally.”
The 36-year-old star – currently engaged to Fergie – recorded a PSA about polar bears while on his visit, and pledged to share simple steps with the world to make people aware of our global impact on the bear and their habitat.
“The bears sort of symbolize something global and if we think globally, we have to think locally and if we’re thinking locally we have to be conscious of things we can do to reduce, you know?” he said. “They’re just amazing creatures, they’re just awesome. The more I learn, the more interesting they are.”
The Thermo-STAT project is designed to alert the world that higher temperatures are having an immediate and negative impact on polar bear conservation due to global warming.
“In Los Angeles especially, we have got to travel more efficiently,” Duhamel said. “Reducing electricity as much as possible, and eating locally-grown, organic food are easy actions to take for most of us.”
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