Erik Brooks's Blog, page 61

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 77 - 2.2.16

"Please take care of this bear"
If Paddington had been a polar bear - and had one last snowball in his jar and traveling case.

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 76 - 2.1.16

Tele turns with a Bear. A blur of GRRR!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 75 - 1.30.16

For the dignity of a species, we should protect the Arctic - preserving the vast wild sanctity of the 1002 and the Coastal Plain - and I'm not talking about polar bears.

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 74 - 1.28.16

Solidarity. Pretty much the only way to go when its harder and harder to be bear.

Harts Pass No. 284

Having our first real thaw of the winter this last week or so. Great (finally!) for packing some snow together and building stuff, but a little melty when it hits the upper 30's and a LOT heavier for shoveling - plus messier for waxing those classic skis with klister. So it goes :) All in a good winter!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 73 - 1.27.16

"All in!"
73 post cards complete and I finally set up a proper landing page on my website. So click the logo in the upper right hand corner or check things out at www.polarbearpostcardproject.com . Nothing that I haven't posted before, but if you're new to the project or you'd like to make a post card of your own, then this is the best "one-stop-shopping" that you can do. Thanks for your support thus far, and let's send even more polar bear post cards the President's way. Jump on in, the water's fine!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 72 - 1.26.16

As large and impressive as they might be, polar bears pale in certain comparison to the vastness of the Arctic. The bowhead whale, pictured here in relatively correct scale (with a larger whale and a smaller bear) is one of the main reasons for the polar bear population that we witnessed in Kaktovik, Alaska on the edge of the 1002 and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Subsistence hunting allows the native population in Kaktovik to take three whales each year as a part of their annual whale hunt. The remaining bone pile -- on the outskirts of town beyond the airstrip -- becomes a draw for polar bears that are stranded closer to the mainland by receding pack ice. In the photo below you can see my daughter Keeley standing in front of a bowhead whale skull - one of the only times that we didn't see bears picking through the bones!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 71 - 1.25.16

Polar Bear in Motion!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 70 - 1.23.16

Up in Salmon Arm, B.C. this past weekend for some xc ski racing/coaching/parenting... and thinking about polar bears and Canadian winter sports :) 
19 distinct populations of polar bears in the world including those in the U.S., Russia, Greenland, Norway, and Canada. Of those five countries, Canada is home to most of the world's bears at a whopping 60%. 
That being said, thoughtful policies to address climate change around the world are a necessary part of keeping this unique and fragile arctic environment in tact enough to sustain both polar bears and many other species. 

Official Cover Reveal for the Dog & Cat Diaries Paperback Editions!

I talked about the process of creating new Dog Diaries cover art back in May, but I finally have a super nice comp from the publisher and I'm excited to see how smart these two look side by side :) Not officially available until April 16th, but add 'em to your list for spring!