The Canadian town known as the polar bear capital of the world is now on the front lines of climate change. CBS News Minnesota's Erin Hassanzadeh reports in the documentary "On the Edge."

Churchill

Extreme weather events are occurring more frequently amid rising sea-levels and increasing temperatures.

Climate Crisis

The town of Churchill, Manitoba in Canada, often referred to as the "polar bear capital of the world," is facing significant threats from climate change, as captured in the documentary "On the Edge" by CBS News Minnesota. The region, known for attracting tourists and scientists from across the globe, is particularly vulnerable as the Arctic experiences warming temperatures. This change adversely affects the polar bears, which are emblematic of Churchill and vital to its local economy and cultural identity. According to the documentary, the population of polar bears in the Western Hudson Bay area has been halved over the past 40 years, decreasing from 1,200 to about 600 due to the melting sea ice, their natural habitat.

The documentary highlights the urgent need for action, as polar bears in this region may be among the first to disappear if the current warming trends continue. Despite variations in annual polar bear populations, the overall downward trajectory is evident and concerning. This situation serves as a harbinger for broader ecological changes that pose substantial risks to biodiversity and cultural connections. The loss of polar bears would not only be a blow to Churchill’s economy, dependent on polar bear tourism, but also to the scientific community as it would limit research opportunities. Furthermore, such a loss would impact Indigenous cultures and the symbolic bond shared between humans and polar bears in this remote Arctic gateway.

The message from the documentary is clear: what happens in the Arctic reverberates globally, underscoring the interconnectedness of global environmental challenges. Through "On the Edge," viewers are prompted to consider the implications of these climatic shifts and the critical question of what will be lost if the Western Hudson Bay polar bears vanish.



'On the Edge' captures Canadian town at front lines of climate change

Well, in today's climate watch, we are less than one week out from Earth Day. So we are taking a closer look at Church Hill, Manitoba in Canada. It's the polar bear capital of the world and attracts tourists and scientists from all over the globe. But this destination is at risk as the Arctic warms. The dangers for the polar bears and their surrounding community grow. CBS News Minnesota takes us inside the issue in a new documentary on the edge. How close are we to the tipping point or are we already there? It's a bit hard to tell. In an individual year, bears can do well. There's a lot of variation from year to year. The downward trend is very clear. Are we doing enough? We're probably not doing enough right now. The risk for them disappearing in this region, it's quite substantial, given how slow the progress is towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Another thing about this population is it makes for a kind of good harbinger. This will be one of the first populations to go if the warming scenario we're currently in continue. Yes, the Western Hudson Bay subpopulation is one of the groups that is expected to disappear first. Five years from now, I probably expect polar bears to be here. I'd be surprised if they were not. Ten years from now, things really start to get fuzzy. And 20 to 30 years from now, certainly within my lifetime, unless things change, I expect to at some point not be able to come up here and see polar bears. It's not something in the distant future. It's already impacting everybody now. We're really on the front lines in Churchill. That's right. And CBS News, Minnesota reporter Aaron Hassanzadeh joins us now. Aaron, good morning. How are the polar bears doing there now? Good morning. Thank you so much for having us. You know, the Western Hudson Bay polar bears, they're the most photographed and studied polar bears in the world. People travel from around the world just to get a glimpse. And they go into Churchill, this little town of 870 people. No roads in, no roads out, a remote gateway to the Arctic. But Polar Bears International, a conservation nonprofit that guided us on our trip as we shot this documentary, says they're really in trouble. Their population has been cut in half in just 40 years because of the warming that's melting their homes on the sea ice. And so you've gone from 1,200 bears in that area to 600 in just a matter of 40 years. And I think you have some file footage, actually, from our WCCO archive because we went there 30 years ago. And it is really interesting in just 30 years how much the conversation has changed. That's what you're looking at. Old video from our trip 30 years ago. Climate change was not part of the conversation. I have to tell you, Vlad and Dana, it was a story about people and polar bears living side by side and just really troubling to see how our actions have changed the narrative so much since WCCO last traveled there 30 years ago. So you speak about our actions. You've learned that what happens in the Arctic doesn't stay there, actually. This community may seem far away to us. But what is this warning that we should all pay attention to? Yeah, we learned from the climate scientists at Polar Bears International that what happens in the Arctic doesn't stay there. And I think a big question we sought out to answer here and on the edge is what will be lost if you lose the Western Hudson Bay polar bears? And I'd love to take a moment to talk about that. You lose tourism dollars. Polar bear tourism in this town is the economic lifeblood of this small town. So that would be lost. Of course, it's a big part of the town's identity. You can imagine they've been living side by side with them for so long. It's a big piece of the culture. It's significant in indigenous culture, too. And so that would be lost. You'd also have a scientific loss because this is the easiest place for scientists to access polar bears. So if if that is lost, you've got the loss of science. And of course, there'd be that human bear connection that is severed because this is the place we can all go to learn about them. We hope this serves as a warning for everyone who watches on the edge. You lose an ecosystem. Also, this is a problem. This is a big problem. And this is something seen replicated in other species, too. Aaron Hassan said, I thank you very much. You can watch on the edge now on the CBS News, Minnesota YouTube page.

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