Abstract

For over 50 years, Churchill, Manitoba has provided visitors an opportunity to see polar bears in their natural environment. Over the same time period, an increase in temperatures and related reductions in sea ice has negatively impacted the health of polar bears in the Western Hudson Bay. In 2008, the term ‘last chance tourism’ was coined, linking the demand to travel to the North with a desire to see these animals ‘before they are gone’. This creates a paradox as tourists require energy-intensive modes of transportation to reach the Arctic, thereby contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. This paper compares the polar bear viewing industry’s total greenhouse gas contribution and tourists’ knowledge about climate change with results from a 2008 study and discusses any changes over the last ten years. During the 2018 polar bear viewing season, greenhouse gas emissions were estimated to be 23,017 t/CO2, an increase from 2008. The results also indicated that although most tourists believe climate change is happening, fewer associate air travel to this — a similar finding identified ten years ago. Findings from this research show that consumption patterns have not changed despite a growing awareness of climate change and its impacts.

摘要

50 多年来，马尼托巴省的丘吉尔一直为游客提供在自然环境中观赏北极熊的机会。在同一时期，气温升高和相关的海冰减少对西哈德逊湾北极熊的健康产生了负面影响。2008 年，“最后机会旅游”这个词被创造出来，将去北方旅游的需求与“在它们消失之前”看到这些动物的愿望联系起来。这造成了一个悖论，因为游客需要能源密集型交通方式才能到达北极，从而导致温室气体排放。本文将北极熊观赏行业的温室气体排放总量和游客对气候变化的了解与 2008 年的一项研究结果进行了比较，并讨论了过去十年的任何变化。2018年北极熊观赏季期间，温室气体排放量估计为 23,017 吨/CO2，比 2008 年有所增加。结果还表明，尽管大多数游客认为气候变化正在发生，但与此相关的航空旅行较少——十年前发现的类似发现。这项研究的结果表明，尽管人们对气候变化及其影响的认识不断提高，但消费模式并未改变。