Program 197a: Richard Ellis: Polar Bears on Thin Ice; Open Phones: Travel Reports

Marine wildlife expert Richard Ellis explains how the loss of the ice cap in the Arctic is accelerating, why wildlife in the region cannot adapt to the effects of global warming, and why this should matter to everyone. Also, Rick takes listener calls for stories of lessons learned when immersed in another culture.

• Marine artist and naturalist Richard Ellis, author of "On Thin Ice: The Changing World of the Polar Bear"(Knopf)

• There is an extensive entry about the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard