Josh Cairns

Drop the polar bear mascots

Images and symbols are powerful tools. We often recall a single, powerful image when thinking of a major historic event: the end of WWII, the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the end of segregation. Imagery has the ability to represent purpose, significance, and unity. It is unfortunate, though, that climate change has come to be represented by polar bears on melting icebergs. The use of polar bears and icebergs has perpetuated the idea that climate change is an event that will harm wildlife and nature – not humans. It has fuelled the belief that for each pipeline we approve and…

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