Some good news and some bad. First the good: The Bush administration has decided to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, putting the U.S. government on record as saying that global warming could drive one of the world's most recognizable animals out of existence. In a sharp reversal from its previous position, the Department of the Interior (DOI) has decided one of nature's most iconic creatures should be listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) because "the polar bears' habitat may literally be melting". The decision potentially has huge implications that go beyond the survival of the polar bear: the ESA of 1973 not only requires the government to come up with a recovery plan for the bears but also prevents it from "enacting, funding, or authorizing [actions which] adversely modify the animal's critical habitats". "I think this is a watershed decision," said Kassie Siegel of the Centre for Biological Diversity, one of three groups that petitioned the DOI to act. "Even the Bush administration can no longer deny the science... There definitely is a new source of liability. For large emitters of greenhouse gases, if they do not consider the impact of those emissions on polar bears there is a provision for us and others to sue." And now the bad news: This proposal is just a step in the process. From here, there is a 90-day comment period, there will be hearings set up, and then a 12-month review of all comments, hearings, and scientific data which will lead to a final ruling. That's a lot of time for big business to come in and fight this with all their might (that money can buy). But environmentalists have a window in which to make this a big, landmark decision. Let's keep our fingers crossed! by
Erin Swanson
Eswanson@enviance.com | 
