Obama Administration: Polar Bears Are Not An Endangered Species
Why is there so much, well, politics around the endangered status of polar bears? Because the animals have become a symbol of the global warming movement (remember this ad?). The Bush administration drew the ire of environmentalists when they refused to convey “endangered” status to polar bears, but now the Obama administration embraces that same reality.
No matter how badly the global warming crowd wants you to believe that polar bears are endangered by melting ice caps, it’s simply not true.
The Obama administration is sticking with a George W. Bush-era decision to deny polar bears endangered species status.
In a court filing Wednesday, the Fish and Wildlife Service defended the previous administration’s decision to give the polar bear the less-protective “threatened” species designation, a move that will frustrate environmentalists who hoped for stronger protections under the Endangered Species Act. …
At the time, the service determined the bears weren’t danger of extinction, so did not warrant the “endangered” status. The bears were listed as “threatened” because they face serious threats from projected decline in its sea ice habitat due to global warming would result in them likely being in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future.
Global polar bear populations, though small, actually seem to be growing. And, ironically, the biggest threat to polar bears is hunting with most of that being done by the world’s arctic aboriginal population which is, frankly, rather green in their lifestyles given that dog sleds don’t quite have the carbon footprint of a GMC Yukon.
Tags: Barack Obama, global warming, polar bears
