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regarding polar bears
Apr. 30th, 2008 12:23 pmIn the news today...
Polar bears will likely officially receive the designation "endangered" in a couple of weeks. According to this article, the implications of such an entry have importance beyond the bears themselves.
The decision to protect, or not protect, the polar bear has huge policy implications for both countries. Not only does acknowledging the plight of the polar bear formally mean acknowledging the fact of global warming, but it would presumably require governments to do something about curtailing the pollution causing global warming.
The article also suggests that the Bush administration has done its best to delay this action:
Andrew Wetzler of the Natural Resources Defense Council blamed the Bush administration of violating the Endangered Species Act by its delaying politics. A delay, he said, likely has been motivated by an administration desire to see offshore lease sales continue as far as possible without additional polar bear protections.
Polar bears will likely officially receive the designation "endangered" in a couple of weeks. According to this article, the implications of such an entry have importance beyond the bears themselves.
The decision to protect, or not protect, the polar bear has huge policy implications for both countries. Not only does acknowledging the plight of the polar bear formally mean acknowledging the fact of global warming, but it would presumably require governments to do something about curtailing the pollution causing global warming.
The article also suggests that the Bush administration has done its best to delay this action:
Andrew Wetzler of the Natural Resources Defense Council blamed the Bush administration of violating the Endangered Species Act by its delaying politics. A delay, he said, likely has been motivated by an administration desire to see offshore lease sales continue as far as possible without additional polar bear protections.
