14 DAY TRIAL // Researchers working with the US Geological Survey Alaska Science Center say that it is possible to use lasers to keep polar bears safe from oil companies.
Contrary to what some conservationists and greenheads might expect (maybe even hope for), the plan does not involve using lasers to blow drilling platforms into smithereens.
On the contrary, the specialists say that lasers can be used to pin down polar bear dens with a high degree of accuracy, and thus make it possible for oil companies to carry on with their working agenda while making sure that they are not disturbing this species' favorite habitats.
Oil Price details that, during the winter months, female polar bears shelter themselves in fairly big dens that they themselves dig in the snow.
It is in these dens where they give birth to their offspring and nurse them until outside weather conditions take a turn for the better.
The problem is that the time of the year when female polar bears hide in their dens coincides with the period when oil and gas explorations are at their most intense.
This is because, during winter, ice roads are stable enough for trucks and other heavy equipment to be able to safely move about in the Arctic.
“Polar bears enter the maternal den in November and exit the den in late March or early April,” explains researcher George Durner.
“A lot of oil and gas exploration happens in the winter — that's when bears are in their dens, rearing their young,” adds specialist Benjamin Jones.
Up until now, specialists have tried to protect polar bear cubs and their moms from heavy machinery owned and operated by oil companies with the help of radar technology or high-resolution aerial photography.
However, neither of these two technologies has proved as efficient at pinning down polar bear dens as conservationists would have liked them to be.
The US Geological Survey Alaska Science Center researchers say that, according to their investigations, Lidar, i.e. a remote sensing technology that involves the use of lasers, can identify about 90-95% of the polar bear dens present in a given area.
Hence, it can be used to protect this species against oil companies that intrude on its land.
Although its success rate is not one of 100%, the technology appears to be more efficient than the ones currently in use. Still, some conservationists might say that the best thing to do to protect bears in the Arctic would be not to go looking for oil and gas in this part of the world in the first place.