Animals You Can Help Save by Switching to Clean Energy

As fossil fuel companies continue to release harmful greenhouse gases into the air, our warming planet faces the consequences in the form of rising sea levels, melting glaciers, severe droughts, wildfires, and unprecedented natural disasters—affecting humans and animals alike. Here are several animals you can help protect by ditching dirty fossil fuels and switching to clean energy:

1. Polar bears: As sea ice continues to rapidly melt, polar bears have less space to hunt, rest, and breed. They have to travel further distances to reach and stay on ice, as well as find food. Melting sea ice also threatens polar bears’ prey, making it more likely that they will face starvation and malnutrition. 

2. Penguins: Similar to polar bears, penguins are also threatened by melting sea ice. Penguin species that live and rest on sea ice are starting to decline. Climate change is also diminishing these penguins’ food supply.

3. Seals: Seals are another species impacted by melting sea ice. Seals use the ice to build dens for protection, so less ice makes the species less safe. Melting sea ice also leads to seal pups getting separated from their mothers, which unfortunately causes high pup mortality. 

4. Sea turtles: Climate change has many consequences on sea turtles. Rising sea levels and severe storms can damage sea turtles’ nests and nesting beaches, while warmer sea temperatures impact sea turtles’ food resources. Warmer oceans and beaches even result in too many female offspring and not as many males, as the increased temperatures disrupt normal hatching ratios. 

5. Tigers: Tigers have lost nearly 95% of their habitat area throughout history—and climate change threatens the little remaining habitat they have. One of the largest tiger populations is located in a large mangrove forest on the coast of the Indian Ocean. Projected sea level rise could wipe out this area by 2070, leaving tigers with virtually no habitat.

6. Reindeer: Also known as caribou, reindeer have insulated fur that allows them to survive in extremely cold temperatures. Unfortunately, this will also make increasingly warmer temperatures difficult to endure. Climate change is also threatening their main sources of food and leading to starvation.

7. Salmon: Many coldwater fish species, including salmon, trout, and cod, are negatively impacted by warmer oceans. Many have begun to migrate further north in search of colder ocean temperatures. Water that is too warm can prove to be harmful or even deadly for cold-water fish. 

8. Clownfish: Rising ocean temperatures and ocean acidification are proving to have harmful effects on clownfish—the bright orange fish species made famous in Finding Nemo. Many other fish species are experiencing similar effects and, as a result, are dwindling in population size.

9. Dolphins: Rising ocean temperatures are causing lower survival rates and reproductive rates for both dolphins and porpoises. These species are also facing more competition for a diminishing amount of prey species, as marine species lower down the food chain also suffer the consequences of climate change. 

10. Butterflies: Several butterfly species including monarch butterflies are threatened by climate change, as droughts, wildfires, and changing weather conditions disrupt their migration patterns and damage much of their habitat. 

If you want to help protect these creatures and so many more, ditch dirty fossil fuels and make the switch to 100% clean, renewable energy today!