Page 31 - 200704 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - April 2007

Polar Bears: Endangered? 31 31 Polar Bears: Endangered? Polar Bears Draw Polar Bears Draw Record Public Response Record Public Response to Endangered Species to Endangered Species Listing Listing More Than 500,000 Urge Feds to More Than 500,000 Urge Feds to Pursue Protection Plan in Face of Pursue Protection Plan in Face of Global Warming Global Warming Center for Biological Diversity Center for Biological Diversity NEW YORK– In just 90 days, more than 500,000 Americans have urged federal officials to list polar bears as officially threatened under the Endangered Species Act due to the profound effect of global warming on the public wants to see action taken to halt the bears’habitat, according to U.S. government global warming and protect the polar bear.” statistics. That figure is almost double the Polar bears live only in the Arctic and former record for the number of comments in an are totally dependent on the sea ice for all of endangered-species listing case in American their essential needs. Five of the world's polar history. bear populations are now classified as The polar bear’s sea-ice habitat is “declining” by the Polar Bear Specialist Group, melting at a dangerous and unprecedented rate, the world's preeminent scientific body for the according to internationally recognized conservation and management of the species. scientists. At this rate, polar bears will not On April 4, 2007, the U.S. National survive. Snow and Ice Data Center reported that the “The sense of urgency about the fate of winter 2007 Arctic sea-ice maximum — the polar bears is like nothing we’ve ever seen defined as the area with sea-ice concentrations in an endangered species listing,” said Andrew of 15 percent or greater — was the second- Wetzler, director of the Endangered Species lowest in the satellite record, narrowly missing Project at the Natural Resources Defense the March 2006 record and making 2007 the Council. “The plight of these animals is critical, third consecutive year to see winter sea ice at and so is the sense that the changes affecting near record-low levels. them are eventually going to affect us. That’s why there is such tremendous public support for ### getting this listing done.” In December, under pressure from a The Center for Biological Diversity is a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological nonprofit conservation organization with more Diversity, NRDC, and Greenpeace, the Bush than 35,000 members dedicated to the administration proposed the listing. Today protection of imperiled species and their marks the end of the required 90-day comment habitats. www.biologicaldiversity.org period. The government has until early next The Natural Resources Defense Council year to decide whether to go forward with the is an international nonprofit organization of plan. scientists, lawyers and environmental “Just ten more years of current global specialists dedicated to protecting public health warming pollution trajectories will commit us and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC to enough warming to melt the Arctic and doom has 1.2 million members and online activists the polar bear to extinction,” said Kassie Siegel, nationwide, served from offices in New York, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Climate, Air, and Energy Program. “We Chicago and Beijing. urgently need to address global warming, not Greenpeace is a nonprofit corporation just for the sake of the polar bear but for the with 2.7 million members worldwide that uses sake of people and wildlife around the world.” peaceful protest and creative communication to If the polar bear is listed, the U.S. Fish expose global environmental problems and and Wildlife Service must designate critical promote solutions for the future.[] habitat and prepare a polar bear recovery plan. In addition, all federal agencies will be prohibited from taking any action — including issuing permits for a wide range of activities including resource extraction and power-plant operation — that would be likely to jeopardize the bear’s continued existence or result in adverse changes to its designated critical habitat. “Global warming is rapidly destroying the ice habitat that polar bears depend on for every aspect of their survival: from mating and raising their cubs to hunting and travel,” said Melanie Duchin, a Greenpeace global warming campaigner in Alaska. “The public gets it and