Black Bear, Brown Bear, Dead Bear

The new craze in Alaska is bear attacks. Ok, I guess I can't call it a craze, but it is an increasingly common phenomena. Usually the story is very similar--someone is jogging or biking in the twilight hours near a bear & cubs--then gets attacked. Almost always this is a grizzly (brown bear).
Now, the argument is--are the amount of bears increasing in the city areas? Or are the amount of people increasing?? Interestingly these two arguments are nicely sliced between the "greenies" and the "hunters". The greenies claim there are too many people in bear territory, but the other "hunter" group thinks bears should be hunted and prohibited/eliminated from living in city limits.
What makes it a little funny, is that the group claiming the bears should be shot--isn't the one getting attacked. As these outdoor hikers & joggers are often greenies--they don't necessarily "blame the bear" when interviewed afterwards. And thank goodness that everyone has survived this year, otherwise it would certainly be a different story.
My own personal bias, is that more and more people are becoming "bear phobic". Especially towards the more common, smaller and shy black bears. For some reason everyone likes to use the term "bear" without differentiating between the two species. The end result being innocent black bears get shot on sight (like the poor guy who was roaming our neighborhood) or folks become afraid to go hiking and enjoy the great outdoors. It's really a shame.
Bottom line: everyone should always practice good bear behavior. Make noise, wear bells, stay away from salmon streams at dusk. And most of all --watch your rear when jogging!!!