Saturday, March 15, 2008

Polar Bear Reprieve?

Time Magazine, March 10, 2008

Three Groups Sue Over Polar Bears

(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) - Three conservation groups sued the Department of the Interior on Monday for missing a deadline on a decision to list polar bears as threatened because of the loss of Arctic sea ice. A decision was due Jan. 9, one year after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the animals as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Agency Director Dale Hall said in January that officials needed a few more weeks to make a decision. But two months later, no decision has been announced.

Polar bears depend on sea ice for hunting seals, denning and giving birth. Conservation groups claim the loss of sea ice due to global warming is accelerating.

"Doing nothing means extinction for the polar bear. That's what the administration is doing - nothing," said Kassie Siegel, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity and the lead author of the 2005 petition that sought the listing. . . read more

Please support these actions by donating whatever you can afford. Maybe we can save the Polar Bears and the Gray Wolves. What a wonderful world this would be.

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