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// This essay has been sent to Professor Hagrid. Copies of the essay are available around the school for students to read.
Clay Roberts
Ravenclaw - Year 1
Aguamenti and the Environment
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is widely renowned as one of nature’s most beloved and fascinating animals. They are characterized as being the largest terrestrial carnivore in the non-wizarding world, sharing the title of largest land predator and largest bear species with the Kodiak bear, and most recognizable by their white, dense fur coats. Adapted for life in icy climates, polar bears are native primarily within the Arctic Circle.
The polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species under the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), with many of the species’ sub-populations failing. A recent study by the IUCN has reported the global population of polar bears to be 20,000 to 25,000, and declining; it has cited a “suspected population reduction of >30% within three generations (45 Years)”. The most significant reason for this deterioration in polar bear numbers, declared by the IUCN, is global warming, an increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s surface. However, recent information brought to my attention may prove there to be a more significant threat destroying the arctic environment.
The main contributors to the deaths of polar bears are malnutrition or starvation due to habitat loss. Normally, polar bears hunt their main source of prey, the Ringed Seal, from platforms of sea ice. However, what appears to be rising temperatures, causes the sea ice to melt earlier than it should, preventing polar bears from building up sufficient fat reserves to survive throughout the seasons. This loss of sea-ice also forces the bears to swim longer distances, causing them to waste valuable energy, and also increases the risk of drowning. This lack of nutrition leads to poor reproductive rates and lower survival rates for younger bears. In addition to malnutrition, the loss of ice may prevent female polar bears from building suitable dens to house their young.
This reduction of ice has cause the ice-floe breakup in the western Hudson Bay to occur three weeks earlier than it did 30 years ago, causing a decline in the body condition of polar bears, and their population in this area by 22% between 1987 and 2004. Because of this loss of habitat, the U.S. Geological Survey predicts that two-thirds of the world’s polar bears will disappear by 2050.
The polar bear is a very important animal when it comes to the balance of the ecosystem, especially in the Arctic Circle. Many animals, including the Arctic Foxes and Glaucous Gulls scavenge from polar bear kills. Without polar bears, these animals will most likely perish from starvation. The Ringed seals and polar bears are so closely related to each others' survival that they regulate one-anothers' populations. Because of the loss of ice and decline in temperature, brown bears have recently been invading polar bear territories, often dominating polar bears in fights over food, and killing polar bears cubs.
Since this loss of ice seems to be the root to all of these problems, we should do what we can to preserve the arctic environment and the habitats of the many animals that live in it. I now feel the main cause of ice loss to be directly related to the conjuration spell Aguamenti. This spell causes the instantaneous summoning of fresh, icy, drinkable water from the caster’s wand. The source of this water ties to the arctic region, more specifically glaciers.
Since the early 1960s, mountain glaciers worldwide have had an estimated net loss of over 4,000 cubic kilometers of water. This loss was more than twice as fast in the 1990s than during previous decades. This melting of glaciers puts millions of people at risk from floods, droughts and lack of drinking water.
Millions of animals are likely to be affected by the loss of glaciers as well, being pushed towards extinction due to the disappearance of their icy habitats. Even animals that don’t live directly on glaciers will be affect severely by their disappearance, such as seabirds that forage for food almost exclusively in areas where melted glacial water enters the ocean, and their populations are already in serious trouble. With Aguamenti taking water away from glaciers, they would most likely be prone to melt more quickly, causing a rise in sea levels, destroying coral reefs that could be too far under the water to receive light and photosynthesize.
With all this evidence, it is quite clear that the world needs its glaciers to function properly and to keep the populations of far too many species of animals stable. Not only does the loss of glaciers and arctic habitats hurt the animals that live there, but animals all over the world, including humans. With hundreds of thousands of wizards all over the world casting water spells daily, it’s no surprise that ice is disappearing around the world at an alarming rate.
I feel that this incredibly serious evidence needs to be shared with wizards all over, and new regulations and restrictions involving the casting of water charms should be instated as soon as possible. If we were to stop using water charms, it could mean saving billions of lives, including our own. As we speak, the non-wizarding world is nigh frantic about this situation and trying to find ways to prevent it and preserve our world, and the key may just be in the hands of wizards everywhere.
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Clay Roberts - Fourth Year Newb
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(no it won't be about the essay as Mariana wouldn't have read it.)