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Conservation Groups Advance Protections for Polar Bear from Global Warming |
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WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Dec. 28 -/E-Wire/-- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFandWS) is expected to confirm they have formally proposed to list the Polar Bear as "threatened" with extinction under the Endangered Species Act due to Arctic ice melt from global warming. This follows a multi-year court battle by groups to protect the bear from the impacts of global warming in the Arctic, including the rapid disappearance of the Polar Bear's sea-ice habitat.
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"This is a victory for the Polar Bear, and all wildlife threatened by global warming," said Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity (Center), one of the plaintiffs in the suit. "This is a watershed decision in the way this country addresses global warming. There is still time to save Polar Bears but we must reduce greenhouse gas pollution immediately."
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The Center is joined by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Greenpeace in this landmark lawsuit. The USFandWS has one year to obtain peer review and public comment on its proposal before issuing a final listing decision for the Polar Bear.
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Once listed, federal agencies will be obligated to ensure that any action they authorize, fund, or carry out will not jeopardize the Polar Bear's continued existence or adversely modify its critical habitat.
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"Global warming is the single biggest threat to Polar Bears' survival, and this will require the government to address the impacts on the Polar Bear," said Andrew Wetzler, senior attorney at NRDC. "The time for half-measures and delay is over. We must face the scientific warnings and address this challenge now."
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Polar Bears live only in the Arctic and are totally dependent on the sea ice for all of their essential needs. The rapid warming of the Arctic and melting of the sea ice poses an overwhelming threat to Polar Bears, which could become the first mammal to lose 100 percent of its habitat to global warming.
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Five of the world's Polar Bear populations are now classified as "declining" by the Polar Bear Specialist Group, the world's preeminent scientific body for the conservation and management of the species.
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Scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research stated that the Arctic could be ice-free in summer as early as 2040, and in the next 20 years the extent of Arctic sea ice will be reduced by 80 percent. The U.S. Minerals Management Service documented the drowning of at least four Polar Bears in September 2004, when the sea ice retreated a record 160 miles off the northern coast.
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Sea ice loss also drastically reduces the food available to the Polar Bear, including their main prey, ice seals. In spring of 2006, scientists located the bodies of several bears that had starved to death.
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"The United States has failed to lead the world in tackling global warming. With under five percent of the world's people, we generate more than 20 percent of the global warming pollution," said Kert Davies, Greenpeace research director. "We must start cutting greenhouse gas emissions or the Polar Bear will be pushed to the brink of extinction within our lifetime."
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States like California have taken action to cut global warming pollution, but Washington has yet to act.
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To date, the government has received more than 200,000 comments in support of listing the Polar Bear, including letters from eminent Polar Bear experts, climate scientists, and more than 35 members of Congress. Contact Info:
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Natural Resources Defense Council :
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Eben Burnham-Snyder
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Tel : 703-357-5428
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Meredith McFadden
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Tel : 202-513-6240
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Center for Biological Diversity :
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Kassie Siegel
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Tel : 760-366-2232 x302
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Cell : 951-961-7972
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Greenpeace :
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Jane Kochersperger
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Tel : 202-680-3798 Website : the Center for Biological Diversity
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