TONIGHT ♪ >>> MICHAEL IS OUT THERE SAVING THE POLAR BEARS IN MANITOBA, CANADA. BACK TO HIM. HEY, MICHAEL. >> Reporter: HEY, GEORGE. I AM STANDING IN ONE OF THESE SOUTHERNMOST HOMES OF THE POLAR BEAR AND YOU REALLY FEEL SMALL WHEN YOU'RE OUT HERE COMPARED TO THE VASTNESS OF THE CLIMATE HERE AND THE WILDERNESS THAT IS AROUND US AND I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO TWO RESEARCHERS WHO GET TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME OUT HERE. POLAR BEAR INTERNATIONAL'S CHIEF SCIENTIST DR. STEVEN AMSTRUP AND THEIR DIRECTOR OF CONSERVATION AND STAFF SCIENTIST ALYSA McCALL. YOU BOTH MAKE IT LOOK EASY TO STAND OUT HERE. YOU BOTH LOOK SO NATURAL OUT HERE IN THIS ENVIRONMENT BUT, ALYSA, WE'RE HERE TALKING ABOUT SAVING THE POLAR BEARS, BUT YOU SAY IT'S ABOUT -- IT'S MORE THAN THAT. IT'S ABOUT SAVING THE POLAR BEAR BUT IT'S REALLY SAVING OURSELVES, AS WELL. TELL ME ABOUT THAT? TOTALLY. AS THE POLAR BEAR IS LOSING ACCESS TO ITS HOME, PEOPLE ARE LOSING ACCESS TO THEIR HOMES SO THE DECISIONS WE'RE MAKING TODAY FOR OUR FUTURE DETERMINE WHAT IT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE DOWN THE ROAD FOR POLAR BEARS, FOR US, OUR CHILDREN AND THEIR CHILDREN. >> SO IN ORDER TO HELP SAVE THE POLAR BEARS, WHAT CAN PEOPLE AT HOME DO? WHAT CAN THE REGULAR PERSON AT HOME DO TO HELP THE CAUSE? >> YEAH, THE GOOD NEWS IS WE KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM IS, TOO MANY CARBON EMISSIONS SO HAVE THE SOLUTION SO WE CAN USE OUR VOTES TO VOTE FOR LEADERS WHO CARE ABOUT A CLEANER FUTURE, VOTE WITH YOUR MONEY, SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE COMPANIES AND THEN USE YOUR VOICE, TALK ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE OR POLAR BEARS OR JUST WHAT YOU CARE ABOUT AND WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD AND THOSE CONVERSATIONS CAN SHAPE SOCIETIES AND WE CAN MAKE THE CHANGES WE NEED FOR POLAR BEARS AND FOR OURSELVES. >> CONVERSATIONS ARE VERY IMPORTANT AND I KNOW, STEVE, FOR YOU, YOU'VE BEEN WATCHING POLAR BEARS FOR OVER FOUR DECADES. I MEAN, REALLY YOU'RE LIKE ONE OF 9 MOST FOREMOST SCIENTISTS ON POLAR BEARS. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHANGES YOU'VE SEEN? >> I SAW IN MY CAREER I SAW THE ARCTIC OCEAN NORTH OF THE ALASKA COAST GO FROM SEA ICE AS FAR AS YOU COULD SEE TO OPEN WATER AS FAR AS YOU CAN SEE AND HERE IN WESTERN HUDSON BAY, WE'VE SEEN ALMOST 30 DAY LONGER ICE FREEZE SEASON. POLAR BEARS DEPEND ON THE ICE TO CATCH THEIR PREY SO WHAT THE RESULT HAS BEEN IS THINNER FEMALES THAT CAN'T NURSE THEIR CUBS, AS WELL AND MORE STARVING CUBS. >> FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE THEY SAY, OKAY, THAT'S ALL GOOD AND FINE BUT WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO SAVE THE POLAR BEAR? EXPLAIN THAT. >> EVERYTHING IN NATURE IS CONNECTED. AND THE POLAR ICE UP HERE HELPS REGULATE THE CLIMATE, YOU KNOW, LOWER LATITUDES TO KEEP IT AT THE LEVEL THAT WE HAVE BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO AND WHICH HUMANS HAVE FLOURISHED. IF WE SAVE POLAR BEARS WE'LL BENEFIT THE REST OF LIFE ON EARTH INCLUDING OURSELVES. REALLY SAVING POLAR BEARS IS SAVING OURSELVES. >> SAVING POLAR BEARS IS SAVING OURSELVES AND I KNOW WE'VE BEEN UP HERE. WE'VE BEEN OUT. WE'VE SEEN POLAR BEARS AND SEEN MOTHERS AND CUBS AND I THINK SOMEONE TOLD ME THAT THE MOTHER HAD THREE CUBS AT ONE POINT AND NOW SHE'S DOWN TO TWO SO ARE THE YOUNGER POLAR BEARS, ARE THEY GIVEN A FAIR CHANCE TO SURVIVE NOW WITH THE WAY EVERYTHING IS GOING. >> IT'S ROUGHER AND ROUGHER. THE RATE OF CUB SURVIVAL THROUGH THE FIRST COUPLE OF YEARS OF LIFE IS MUCH LOWER THAN IT USED TO BE AND, OF COURSE, IF CUBS AREN'T ENTERING THE POPULATION, ULTIMATELY THE POPULATION DECLINES AND IT HAS DECLINED HERE BY ABOUT 30%. >> 30% AND HOW MANY POLAR BEARS ARE THERE IN THIS AREA? >> RIGHT NOW THERE'S BETWEEN ABOUT 800 TO 90 POLAR BEARS. >> AND THIS USED TO BE A LOT MORE, I IMAGINE. >> IN THE LATE '80s, EARLY '90s IT WAS ESTIMATED TO BE ABOUT 1200. >> SO A QUARTER. OH, MAN, BUT, YOU KNOW, I'M GLAD WE CAME UP TO DO THIS. I'VE ALWAYS LOVED POLAR BEARS. SOMETHING ABOUT THEM HAS ALWAYS PIQUED MY INTEREST AND TO SEE HOW THE ECOSYSTEM THEY LIVE IN AFFECTS OURS AND OURS AFFECTS THEIRS IN A WAY WHAT WE NEED TO GET OUR STUFF TOGETHER. THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME OUT HERE IN THE COLD. >> WELL, THANK YOU FOR COMING. WE REALLY APPRECIATED HAVING YOU HERE. >> NO, I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH. YOU GUYS, THIS HAS BEEN LIKE I SAID THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME AND I'LL GLADLY COME BACK OUT HERE TO -- IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT DEVELOPS WITH THE POLAR BEARS I WILL BE OUT TO COVER IT BECAUSE THIS HAS BEEN AN AMAZING, AMAZING TIME. I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT EVERYBODY SHOULD LEARN ABOUT AND THAT WE DEFINITELY WANTED TO SHARE AT "GMA" WITH OUR AUDIENCE ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT OUR ECOSYSTEM IS TO OUR LIVES, AS WELL, AND NOT JUST TO THE ANIMALS WE THINK HAVE TO LIVE IN OUR WORLD. WE HAVE TO LIVE IN THEIRS ALSO. >> THEY SAY EVERYTHING IN NATURE IS