US denies polar bears protection from climate change

[Turborama]

Source: The Guardian

Decision by Obama administration to uphold a Bush-era ruling that limits protection of the polar bear from global warming brings immediate protests from wildlife and environmental groups

Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent
Friday 8 May 2009 18.10 BST

The Obama administration today declined to protect polar bears from the single greatest threat to their survival – the melting of sea ice by global warming. The decision brought immediate protests from wildlife and environmental groups.

The interior secretary, Ken Salazar, said he would not overturn one of the most controversial last-minute rules of the George Bush era. The rule had denied protection to the polar bear because Bush did not want to be pressed into regulating the industries that emit greenhouse gases.

"To see the polar bear habitat melting and an iconic species threatened is a tragedy of the modern age," Salazar said. But he said existing wildlife legislation, which was crafted in the 1970s, was not equipped to deal with threats to the polar bear from heat-trapping pollution occurring miles away from its Arctic home. "The endangered species act is not the best mechanism for cutting down on climate change." He said it would be far more effective to work towards a comprehensive strategy on climate change – which he said the Obama administration and Congress were pursuing as their "signature" issue. "We need a comprehensive energy and climate change strategy that curbs climate change and its impact, including the loss of sea ice," he said.

However, the rationale that it was better to drop the protections under the endangered species act rather than use an imperfect body of law will carry very little weight among environmentalists who have led a dogged campaign to press Obama to overturn the Bush rule.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/may/08/polar-bears

[NOW tense]

1. casualties of our carelessness. n/t

[Baby Snooks]

2. So just what IS the strategy?

"He said it would be far more effective to work towards a comprehensive strategy on climate change – which he said the Obama administration and Congress were pursuing as their "signature" issue. "We need a comprehensive energy and climate change strategy that curbs climate change and its impact, including the loss of sea ice," he said."

So where is it? I don't see it. Probably because the lobbyists haven't been able to come up with one.

[SpartanDem]

4. It's the cap and trade

proposal which that's being worked on now.

[Metta]

3. Happy karma, Obama administration. You know how it goes.

no text.

[keepCAblue]

5. Backpedalling on DADT. Refusal to fund needle exchange. Now this...

One campaign promise after another...broken. Are we all just a bunch of trusting fools.

[jillan]

6. Interesting - I just saw that Disney movie EARTH and they devoted a large

segment of the movie to the plight of the polar bear.

Throughout the movie there were clips of a male polar bear searching for food, swimming till he was exhausted, too weak and exhausted to kill a sea lion for food.... and then they showed him lay down. (I was hoping that whoever was filming this finally fed him).

It was heartbreaking, and I'm not sure why removing extra protections for them polar bears would be a good thing.

[Annces]

7. Salazar is very destructive toward wildlife

He also does not care about wolves or whales. Corporate interest person.