Help Save Polar Bears

Polar bears are dying and will soon be wiped out entirely if we don't take immediate action to curb global warming. One of George W. Bush's 11th-hour decisions greatly weakened protections for the polar bear and other species under the Endangered Species Act by issuing regulations reducing protections for the polar bear and exempting greenhouse gas emissions -- the number-one threat to the bear -- from regulation.

Congress, however, has passed special legislation granting President Barack Obama's Interior Secretary Ken Salazar 60 days to revoke the damaging Bush regulations with the stroke of a pen.

Please sign the petition at www.savethepolarbear.org and pass it on to a friend today.

With your help, we'll reach our goal to get 50,000 signatures and convince Interior Secretary Salazar to revoke the Bush regulations before the May 9, 2009 deadline.

Bush administration takes parting shot at endangered wildlife

Last minute Endangered Species Act regulations put nation's wildlife at risk of extinction

WASHINGTON—Rushing to put in place changes it failed to secure in the past eight years, the Bush administration has finalized new Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations today, cutting huge holes in the safety net that protects animals and plants in danger of becoming extinct.

First proposed by the Department of the Interior a little over three months ago, the new regulations will eliminate the requirement that agencies seek advice from expert biologists with federal wildlife agencies in decisions about whether dams, towers, highways and other projects will likely harm imperiled species.

"This administration’s disdain for wildlife and the environment has never been more clear than it is today," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, executive vice president of Defenders of Wildlife and former director of the Fish and Wildlife Service. "For 35 years, the Endangered Species Act has helped save and recover imperiled wildlife on the brink of extinction. Now, with this administration facing its last days, they are doing everything they can to cement their anti-environmental legacy before the Obama administration takes office."

The Bush administration’s last minute rulemaking has drawn heavy criticism from the public, lawmakers, conservation groups and newspaper editorialists around the country. More than 250,000 comments opposing the changes were submitted to the Interior Department in the 60 days it allowed for the public to respond to the changes.

But the massive public outcry seems to have fallen on deaf ears. In its push to finalize the rules before President-elect Barack Obama takes office, the department had only 15 people spend only 32 hours reading the comments, averaging mere seconds in reviewing each of the more than 250,000 comments. Department officials then ignored the major concerns raised by the comments, making only cosmetic changes to the original proposals.

Both President-elect Obama and key Democratic leaders have signaled that they will oppose the ESA changes. In addition, Defenders intends to take immediate legal action to stop these regulations.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has argued that the new regulations are needed to keep the ESA from being used to limit emissions from coal power plants and other polluting sources that contribute to global warming. This continues the Bush administration’s failed approach of ignoring the problem.

"Global warming presents the greatest threat this generation has seen to ourselves, our wildlife and our environment, and yet the Bush administration has dragged its feet on addressing the impacts of a warming planet for its entire time in office," Clark said. "While the ESA by itself certainly can't provide a comprehensive solution to global warming, its protections will be essential in helping at-risk species survive a changing climate. If allowed to stand, these regulations will deprive the Obama administration of a powerful tool to protect wildlife and ecosystems from the effects of global warming."

Many of the ESA regulation changes finalized today were tried before in a failed legislative effort by former Representative Richard Pombo (R-CA), whose anti-environmental record and repeated attacks on the ESA contributed to his defeat in the 2006 elections.

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service are the keepers of the flame for our threatened and endangered wildlife. They are equipped to make decisions based on looking at the whole picture for a species, on what’s happening to their habitat, their health and other significant impacts," Clark said. "It seems that the Bush administration has prioritized the interests of its industry allies over its responsibility to the public for protecting our nation’s imperiled wildlife. We will work in the courts, with Congress, and with the Obama administration to overturn these damaging regulations, so that we can begin to address the environmental neglect and damage that has been done over the last eight years."

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Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 1 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.org .

Congress Asks: Fat Cats or Polar Bears?

Wealthy speculators are driving up gas prices and fueling calls for harmful new drilling off our coasts and in pristine places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

It’s a classic match-up: Wall Street fat cats versus American families and the natural treasures we leave to our children. And in the next two weeks, Congress will vote to see who wins.

Help protect our polar bears from profit-hungry speculators and Big Oil. Urge Congress to pass legislation to address high gas prices by restoring accountability and transparency in the oil markets.

Speculation in the oil markets is a major factor in high gas prices.

Here’s how it works: Weak oversight and accountability in the oil market allows wealthy investors from around the world to drive up the price we pay for gas by purchasing oil that they have no intention of using.

According to Michael Masters of Masters Capital Management, who testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in June, “with greater regulation [of speculation], oil prices could drop to $65 or $70 a barrel within about 30 days.”[1]

Ask your Senators and Representative to pass legislation to address high gas prices and protect our polar bears and other wildlife from the oil speculators and Big Oil’s disastrous drilling plans.

Officials within the Bush Administration’s own Energy Information Agency estimate that oil from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge wouldn’t hit the market for several years and would only reduce gas by a few pennies. Similarly, the agency has said that offshore drilling would not significantly impact domestic production or prices before 2030.

But this drilling would come at a terrible cost to our wildlife and the environment. Arctic drilling activities would disturb the most important onshore denning habitat for America’s threatened polar bears -- potentially causing polar bear mothers to abandon their cubs.

Offshore drilling has its own problems: Each platform produces toxic discharges that can poison and kill marine wildlife and dumps tons of air pollutants into our atmosphere.

Please take a stand against irresponsible policies that hurt our families and put our wildlife at risk. Send your message now!

More drilling may benefit wealthy investors, Big Oil companies and their allies in Congress, but it won’t lower prices at the pump or end America’s oil addiction.

Respectfully,
Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund

Polar Bear to Be a Protected Species

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Interior Department declared the polar bear a threatened species Wednesday, saying it must be protected because of the decline in Arctic sea ice from global warming.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne cited dramatic declines in sea ice over the last three decades and projections of continued losses. These declines, he told a news conference, mean the polar bear is a species likely to be in danger of extinction in the near future.

Kempthorne also said, though, that it would be "inappropriate" to use the protection of the bear to reduce greenhouse gases, or to broadly address climate change.

Reflecting views recently expressed by President Bush, Kempthorne said the Endangered Species Act was "never meant to regulate global climate change."

He said the decision to list the bear includes administrative actions aimed at limiting the impact of the decision on energy development and other climate related activities.

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Polar Bear Breakthrough - SOS

Alaska's polar bears have moved one big step closer to receiving protection under the Endangered Species Act.

A federal judge just ordered the Bush Administration to stop dragging its feet and decide by May 15 whether it will safeguard America's polar bears from the threat of extinction due to rising temperatures and rapidly melting sea ice.

It took a lawsuit by NRDC, the Center for Biological Diversity and Greenpeace to force this latest breakthrough. The court ruled that the Bush Administration had violated the law by missing its January deadline and then proceeding to delay for months more.

While the Administration stalled for time, it rammed through oil and gas leases in some of the polar bear's most important Arctic habitat.

By ordering a May 15 deadline for this decision, the federal courts have thrown polar bears an important lifeline.

That's because the Endangered Species Act requires this momentous decision to be made solely on the best available science -- not politics -- and the science is absolutely clear that the polar bear urgently needs protection from the impacts of global warming.

With reports of polar bears starving and drowning...snowy dens collapsing on mother bears and their newborn cubs...and populations in decline, there is no longer any doubt that the climate crisis is taking a terrible toll on these magnificent creatures.

But despite the iron-clad evidence, there is no assurance that the Bush Administration will do the right thing on May 15. Given President Bush's pro-polluter agenda and relentless attacks on wildlife, it is still possible that the Interior Department will deny protection for the polar bear.

In that case, we'll be fully prepared to drag the Bush Administration back to court and fight in the legal arena until polar bears win the protection they so urgently need.

I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as we get word of the Administration’s decision. In the meantime, if you haven't done so already, please take a moment to tell your senators to stop oil development in Alaska's prime polar bear habitat.

With Alaska's polar bears under siege, I am so grateful to have you working by our side to help ensure their survival.

Sincerely,

Frances Beinecke
President
Natural Resources Defense Council

Earth Day Action: Jaguars, Polar Bears Threatened by Inaction

Tuesday is Earth Day, and while millions of Americans will do what they can to enjoy and protect America’s natural treasures, there’s one man who should be doing a lot more: President Bush’s Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne.

Take Action for Earth Day! Urge Congress to hold hearings on Secretary Kempthorne’s abysmal track record on protecting America’s wildlife.

As Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne is supposed to be looking out for America’s natural treasures. He’s supposed to be concerned about the future we’ll leave for our children.But since being appointed almost two years ago, Secretary Kempthorne hasn’t listed a single new species under the Endangered Species Act -- even though federal biologists warn that at least 280 native species could disappear forever without such protections.

Urge Congress to hold Secretary Kempthorne accountable for his failure to act for wildlife by holding Congressional hearings...

Jaguars: Despite the presence of jaguars in the United States and the existence of large swaths of prime jaguar habitat, Kempthorne’s department has refused to create a recovery plan for these endangered cats, claiming that this big cat is a “foreign” species. But under this flawed argument, the U.S. would have had no obligation to protect bald eagles, wolves, grizzlies or other native species -- so long as they existed somewhere outside the lower 48 states!

Polar Bears: Secretary Kempthorne has repeatedly delayed listing the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act and in February approved harmful offshore drilling in the Chukchi Sea -- essential habitat for one of the two remaining U.S. polar bear populations. Last fall, federal scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey reported that polar bears could be extinct in Alaska by 2050. Other Species: Under Kempthorne, the Interior Department has even denied vital protections for wolverines, red knots and right whales -- all species in serious decline and dangerously close to extinction.

Urge your Representative to hold Kempthorne accountable in Congressional hearings for not doing more to protect polar bears, jaguars and other wildlife...

It’s the Secretary of Interior’s job to protect our wildlife and wild places. And it’s Congress’ job to hold the Secretary accountable when he fails to do his job.

This Earth Day, please take a moment out of your day to speak out for responsible management of our precious wildlife.

Sincerely,
Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife

P.S. To celebrate Earth Day, Defenders’ DC staff will be volunteering at Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland. To help wildlife in your community this Earth Day, please take our Earth Day Pledge and check out our events page to find special Earth Day celebrations with our outreach representatives in Colorado, California and New Mexico.

Help Save Polar Bears and Other Arctic Wildlife

The news for polar bears is bleak -- polar bears could disappear entirely from Alaska within 50 short years due to a drastic decline in Arctic sea ice.

But Big Oil and their allies in Congress are willing to sell out our vanishing polar bears for a few barrels of oil. Well, I'm doing something to protect Arctic wildlife and our polar bear's last stand -- and I hope you will, too.

It's easy to get involved -- Just take action online at the website below:

http://action.defenders.org/arcticwilderness

Polar bears and other Arctic wildlife are facing a double-barreled threat from Congress and the Bush/Cheney Administration.

President Bush is calling for Arctic National Wildlife Refuge drilling in his budget. And Sens. Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have introduced legislation to link drilling plans to gas prices -- despite federal estimates that such drilling would do next to nothing to reduce gas prices.

Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would, however, threaten the most important land-based habitat that America's vanishing polar bears have left.

Please urge your Senators to reject the latest Arctic Refuge drilling plans and permanently safeguard this special place by designating portions of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as federally protected wilderness -- take action online now at:

http://action.defenders.org/arcticwilderness

Thanks for your help...

Help me save polar bears

What does George Bush have against polar bears?

The Bush/Cheney Administration's own scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey say that global warming and habitat loss could eliminate polar bears from Alaska by 2050. Yet, the president had little to say in his State of the Union about what -- if anything -- his administration would be doing to prevent their extinction.

Take action now. Urge George Bush to protect polar bears by sending a message online at:

http://action.defenders.org/stateofpolarbears

Year after year, President Bush has called for harmful drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the most important onshore denning habitats for U.S. polar bears. Earlier this month, his Secretary of the Interior approved the sale of drilling rights in the Chukchi Sea, potentially threatening even more bears with pollution, spills and disruptive activities.

The Bush/Cheney Administration will come to an end next year, but we can't allow their decisions and lack of action to spell extinction for U.S. polar bears.

Take action now at:

http://action.defenders.org/stateofpolarbears

Thanks for taking the time to help!
Allie:)

Polar Bear Protection Delayed. Oil Drilling Okayed.

This letter urges concerned Americans to come to the rescue of the Alaskan polar bear, which is facing extinction due to global warming and is now threatened by the more immediate danger of oil development being rushed through by the Bush Administration.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dear Friend,

By speaking out today, you can help save Alaska's polar bears from the threat of toxic oil spills.

The Bush Administration is trying to rush through the sale of oil and gas leases in prime polar bear habitat -- the Chukchi Sea off of Alaska -- before the polar bear can win protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Please join us in supporting legislation -- the Markey bill -- that would reverse the go-ahead for this dangerous sale. Otherwise, the Alaskan polar bear, which is already facing extinction as global warming melts its sea ice habitat, would face the more immediate threat of a toxic oil spill.

There is no proven method of cleaning up oil spills in the Arctic's icy waters -- and there is virtually no way for oil-covered polar bears to survive.

Please speak out now to put polar bear protection ahead of oil and gas development.

Go to http://www.PolarBearSOS.org/takeaction_polar_bears

Thank you for speaking out at this critical time.

Sincerely,

Frances Beinecke
President
Natural Resources Defense Council

Save the Chukchi Polar Bears!

America’s polar bears could disappear forever within a few short decades. But that’s not stopping the Bush/Cheney Administration from opening tens of thousands of square miles of vital polar bear habitat to exploitation by Big Oil.

The Chukchi Sea on Alaska’s northwest coast is essential to the survival of one of the two remaining populations of polar bears in America. Drilling in the area could be disastrous, creating noise, pollution and other disturbances that could harm the fragile polar bear population that depends on ice in the Chukchi Sea to find food and to raise their young -- sea ice that's rapidly melting.

In the face of dwindling sea ice and a warming climate, these polar bears are already struggling to survive -- swiming greater distances and often drowning in their search for suitable pack ice for hunting. In fact, the government’s top scientists warn that America’s polar bears could disappear as early as 2050.

But just days before the Department of Interior once again delayed the announcement of new federal protections for the nation’s polar bears, federal officials announced a potentially disastrous plan: to sell offshore drilling rights on nearly 46,000 square miles of the Chukchi Sea.

Tell Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to delay the sale of drilling rights that could disrupt polar bear habitat and would extend America’s dependence on fossil fuels that cause global warming.

Our polar bears are already struggling to survive. Please take action now to help save them.

50,000 signatures for polar bears - can you help?

Hi -

In as few as 50 years, America's polar bears could be gone. Global warming is melting the Arctic sea ice these bears call home, and if we don't act now we may lose them forever.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has opened a new comment period on their proposal to list polar bears as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. I just submitted my official public comment in support of this proposal - please join me and take action today: http://go.care2.com/polarbear

ONLY 2 WEEKS LEFT TO COMMENT!

We owe it to future generations to do everything in our power to save polar bears from extinction and fight global warming.

Please sign the petition to protect polar bears from extinction: http://go.care2.com/polarbear

Thanks!
Allie :)

Warming Is Seen as Wiping Out Most Polar Bears

by: John M. Broder and Andrew C. Revkin
10 September 2007
NY Times

Two-thirds of the world's polar bears will disappear by 2050, even under moderate projections for shrinking summer sea ice caused by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, government scientists reported on Friday.

The finding is part of a yearlong review of the effects of climate and ice changes on polar bears to help determine whether they should be protected under the Endangered Species Act. Scientists estimate the current polar bear population at 22,000.

The report, which the United States Geological Survey released here, offers stark prospects for polar bears as the world grows warmer.

The scientists concluded that, while the bears were not likely to be driven to extinction, they would be largely relegated to the Arctic archipelago of Canada and spots off the northern Greenland coast, where summer sea ice tends to persist even in warm summers like this one, a shrinking that could be enough to reduce the bear population by two-thirds.

The bears would disappear entirely from Alaska, the study said.

"As the sea ice goes, so goes the polar bear," said Steven Amstrup, lead biologist for the survey team.

The report was released as President Bush was in Australia meeting with Asian leaders to try to agree on a strategy to address global warming. Mr. Bush will be host to major industrial nations in Washington this month to discuss the framework for a treaty on climate change.

The United Nations plans to devote its general assembly in the fall to global warming.

A spokeswoman for the White House declined to comment on the report, saying it was part of decision making at the Interior Department, parent of the survey.

In the report, the team said, "Sea ice conditions would have to be substantially better than even the most conservative computer simulations of warming and sea ice" to avoid the anticipated drop in bear population.

In a conference call with reporters, the scientists also said the momentum to a warmer world with less Arctic sea ice — and fewer bears — would be largely unavoidable at least for decades, no matter what happened with emissions of heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide.

"Despite any mitigation of greenhouse gases, we're going to see the same amount of energy in the system for 20, 30 or 40 years," said Mark Myers, the survey director. "We would not expect to see any significant change in polar conditions regardless of mitigation."

In other words, even in the unlikely event that all the major economies were to agree to rapid and drastic reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases, the floating Arctic ice cap will continue to shrink at a rapid pace for the next 50 years, wiping out much of the bears' habitat.

The report makes no recommendation on listing the bears as a threatened species or taking any action to slow ice cap damage. Such decisions are up to another Interior Department agency, the Fish and Wildlife Service, which enforces the Endangered Species Act. That decision is due in January, officials have said. The wildlife agency had to make a determination on the status of a threatened species because of a suit by environmental groups like Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

In some places, the bears have adapted to eating a wide range of food like snow geese and garbage. But the survey team said their fate was 84 percent linked to the extent of sea ice.

Separate studies of trends in Arctic sea ice by academic and government teams have solidified a picture of shrinking area in summers for decades to come.

A fresh analysis by scientists of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to be published Saturday in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, says sea-ice coverage of the Arctic Ocean will decline by more than 40 percent before the summer of 2050, compared with the average ice extent from 1979 to 1999.

This summer the ice retreated much farther and faster than in any year since satellite tracking began in 1979, several Arctic research groups said.

Arctic sea ice melts to its lowest level ever

By Michael McCarthy, Environment Editor
Published: 22 September 2007

The sea ice of the Arctic shrank to its lowest-ever level this week, shattering the previous record, set two years ago, by an enormous amount, American scientists have confirmed.

In what will be widely seen as one of the most alarming signs yet of accelerating global warming, the summer melt-back exceeded the September 2005 low point by 22 per cent – an area of 1.2 million square kilometres – more than 385,000 square miles. This represents an area five times the size of the UK.

The colossal shrinkage is immediately and dramatically visible on satellite images of the two low points. Furthermore, the difference between 2005 and this year is more than double the difference between 2005 and 2002, the previous lowest year.

"It's the biggest drop from a previous record that we've ever had and it's really quite astounding," said Walt Meier, a research scientist at the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Colorado. "That's a dramatic change in one year. Certainly we've been on a downward trend for the last 30 years or so, but this is really accelerating the trend."

The ice cover of the Arctic Ocean shrinks in the summer and regrows in the autumn and winter, in a regular cycle. By Sunday last week, it had shrunk to 1.6 million sq miles, the NSIDC said. This compares with the 2005 low point of 2.07 million sq miles. The contrast is even greater with the long-term average over the past 20 years or so. Between 1979 (when regular satellite monitoring had just started) and 2000, the long-term average minimum was 2.6 million sq miles.

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Stop Polar Bear Trophy Hunting!

Polar bears are in such trouble that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service has proposed listing them as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. So why does this same agency allow American trophy hunters to kill Canadian polar bears and bring them home?

Tell the Fish and Wildlife Service to stop issuing polar bear trophy permits immediately!

Canadian polar bear populations -- like those in America -- are declining due to global warming and other threats.

In fact, the World Conservation Union's Polar Bear Specialist Group predicts that polar bear populations could drop 30% in the next 35-50 years and that polar bears may disappear entirely from most of their range within 100 years.

Hunting polar bears is already banned in the U.S. But half of the world's polar bears live in Canada, where hunting is legal. And due to a huge loophole in the Marine Mammal Protection Act, American trophy hunters can travel to Canada, kill a polar bear, and bring back polar bear trophies.

We may not be able to stop Canada from allowing hunting, but we can stop the U.S. from allowing Americans to import polar bear trophies. Please act today and urge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to stop issuing polar bear trophy permits immediately!

Thank you for taking action today,
Rebecca Young,
Care2 and ThePetitionSite team

Polar bears need your help!

Polar bears need our help. There are only 20-25,000 of these majestic bears scattered throughout the Arctic, and rising temperatures and industrial pollution are driving them to the brink of extinction.

But there is hope! In December, officials at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced a proposal to list polar bears as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.

Securing this "threatened" status will provide crucial protections that can help ensure the survival of our polar bears.

Click here to send a message to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service supporting increased protections for polar bears.

The deadline for public comments is Monday, April 9th -- please don't delay!

Human activities have put polar bears in danger-the future of the species is threatened both by pollution and climate change.

Toxic pollution from industrial emissions builds up in the food chain. By the time it reaches polar bears at the top of the food chain it's strong enough to cause birth defects and inhibit development.

Global warming also causes Arctic ice to melt earlier in the summer and freeze later in the winter, shortening the polar bears' hunting season. For every week lost on the ice, the bears lose about 22 pounds of fat. Thinner bears tend to give birth to fewer cubs. Rising global temperatures have caused polar bears' birth rates to decline by 15% in recent years!

Under current conditions, without additional protections, our polar bears will be extinct within the century!

Click here to help save polar bears by urging the Fish & Wildlife Service to list them as a threatened species.

For more than 30 years, the Endangered Species Act has prevented the extinction of animals like bald eagles, grizzly bears, and manatees. We must extend these crucial protections to our polar bears before it is too late to save them.

There are only have 7 days left to support stronger protections for our polar bears. Click here to send in your comments today.

Once you've sent your comments, please take a moment to forward this message to your friends, family, and co-workers so that they can add their voices to the call for increased protections for polar bears!

Thank you again for your support.

Sincerely,

Julie Waterman
Campaign Director, SaveOurEnvironment.org
info@saveourenvironment.org

HELP SAVE POLAR BEARS FROM GLOBAL WARMING

http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/biogems_polar_0107

The Bush Administration is beginning the review process to decide whether to protect the polar bear, threatened with extinction due to global warming, under the Endangered Species Act. But we must speak up before February 23, 2007, or they will not hold public hearings on this critical matter.

Please help by sending a message directly to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, letting them know you want public hearings on polar bear protection. They are not required by law to hold such hearings, but they can be swayed if we all speak up.

CLICK HERE to show your support for polar bear protection.

GLOBAL WARMING DISRUPTING BEAR HIBERNATION IN EUROPE

It's not just Arctic creatures suffering from the negative effects of global warming. Spanish scientists are blaming global warming for the fact that brown bears appear to have stopped hibernating in Spain's northern Cantabrian Mountains, the first bears known not to hibernate in Europe.

According to Douglas Futuyma, professor of ecology and evolution at the State University of New York in Stony Brook, "There is a grave concern about the prospects of a great number of species. They are likely to be harmed by temperature changes, by mismatch between their life cycles and the altered seasonal life cycles of species on which they depend, and by invasion of competing species that are better adapted to warmer conditions."

http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/biogems_polar_0107

Bush administration proposes listing polar bears as threatened species

WASHINGTON (AP) — Polar bears are in jeopardy and need stronger government protection because of melting Arctic sea ice related to global warming, the Bush administration said Wednesday.

Pollution and overhunting also threaten their existence. Greenland and Norway have the most polar bears, while a quarter of them live mainly in Alaska and travel to Canada and Russia.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne on Wednesday proposed listing polar bears as a "threatened" species on the government list of imperiled species. The "endangered" category is reserved for species more likely to become extinct.

"Polar bears are one of nature's ultimate survivors, able to live and thrive in one of the world's harshest environments," Kempthorne said. "But we are concerned the polar bear's habitat may literally be melting."

A final decision on whether to add the polar bears to the list is a year away, after the government finishes more studies.

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