• Thinkstock
    6 of 11

    POLAR BEAR EXTINCTION/GLOBAL WARMING

    For years, we’ve been hearing about the dire circumstances polar bears are facing. Melting arctic ice is cataclysmic to the polar bear population in a variety of ways. It’s affecting their food sources and starving them. It’s destroying the land on which they live and drowning them. But their situation is only the beginning of the danger for the rest of the planet. Regardless of how any one of us feels about the plight of polar bears, it is a warning sign of what other animal populations, not to mention humankind, may have in store if global climate change continues unabated. Experts recently suggested that polar bears may be extinct in as little as 25 years. These beautiful animals may be the poster children for global warming, but they won’t be the only victims. Reducing our personal carbon footprints isn’t just about saving polar bears; it’s also about saving our own species. (WWF)