Bearly Surviving Amid the Ebbs and Floes

[mloutre]

"Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it."

But polar bears can't talk. So it's up to us to talk about it for them.

Because they're in trouble and they really need our help.



One of the most visible side effects of global warming is that Arctic sea ice is melting away at ever-increasing rates.

Polar bears are completely dependent on Arctic sea ice to survive, but recent reports indicate that 80 percent of that ice could be gone in 20 years -- all of it by 2040.

Polar bears are already suffering the effects: birth rates are falling, fewer cubs are surviving, and more bears are drowning.

With more than 25 percent of the world's polar bear populations already in decline, further warming could drive this magnificent Arctic animal to extinction by the end of this century.



And in the meanwhile, as the clock ticks down to zero, Washington may be talking about the weather but nobody's doing anything about it as far as the polar bears are concerned.

The Bush administration does have a proposal on the table to list the polar bear as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. They didn't want to do it and they still don't, but public pressure forced them to propose it anyway.

Yet the administration's proposal does not designate "critical habitat" for protection, even though melting habitat from global warming is the main threat to the polar bears' survival.

And even the halfway measure they proposed has never been approved by federal agencies including the Fish and Wildlife Services, whose responsibility it would be to step in and help prevent the bears' dying out entirely.



Too bad polar bears don't vote. If they could, the White House might actually pay attention to their plight. And too bad polar bears can't talk or write. Because if they could, they could petition the Bush administration to stop stalling and start saving their species before it's too late.

The remaining polar bears can't vote, though. They can't talk, and they can't write. But we can. And we should. And we have to do it right away.

The Bush administration is accepting public comments only through April 9 on whether it should protect polar bears -- or leave them at the mercy of global warming instead.

That means that we have only until the end of Monday to make our voices heard on behalf of those beleaguered bears. They're counting on us to save them from extinction. They need our help. And they need it NOW.

The Natural Resources Defense Council has been working to protect the environment for the last 37 years, and they've been pushing hard on the polar bear problem. They have an area on their website where we can add our voices to those speaking out on behalf of the bears:

http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/polarbearsos_0207

The terms of the Bush administration's unwillingly-offered proposal state that citizen comments can only be officially submitted through the end of Monday, April 9.

So don't delay. Have your say. And save a polar bear today.






http://www.youtube.com/v/ua8jF1ZPaAU

[Skink]

1. Sounds like you need more beer.

:toast:

[mloutre]

3. um... what the heck was *that* reply supposed to mean?

http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/essay_schliebe.html

[Skink]

5. Um you know ...Beer.

:beer:

Edited for beer smile.

[Little Wing]

4. sounds like you need to lay off the beer

:eyes:

[globalvillage]

2. Please Sign

There's only two days left, and this is so very urgent.
Please sign the letter at the link in the OP.

Dr. Rosa Meehan, Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Marine Mammals Management Office
1011 East Tudor Road
Anchorage, AK 99503

Dear Dr. Meehan,

I strongly support your proposal to list the polar bear as a
threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The
scientific evidence that polar bears are threatened with
extinction from global warming is overwhelming. Polar bears are
completely dependent on Arctic sea ice to survive, but 80
percent of that ice could be gone in 20 years and all of it by
2040. Polar bears are already suffering the effects: birth rates
are falling, fewer cubs are surviving, and more bears are
drowning.

I am therefore very concerned that your proposal fails to
identify global warming pollution as the cause of rising Arctic
temperatures and vanishing sea ice. Our government's refusal to
curb global warming pollution is a primary cause of the polar
bear's melting habitat and terrible plight. It must be
addressed. And while your proposal discusses the kind of habitat
that is essential for the polar bear's survival, it does not
designate any of it as "critical habitat" that could help the
bear recover.

Please act swiftly to finalize the listing of the polar bear and
designate its critical habitat. We must act immediately if we
are to save this magnificent Arctic creature from extinction.


Sincerely,

[Control-Z]

6. done

:hug:

[Kolesar]

7. Is this a good letter? Critical editorial comments are welcome!

I strongly support your proposal to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

It appears to me that the Bush administration is again playing games with language and image. The administration will allow the polar bear to be listed as an endangered species as a public relations ploy to make it look like they are not Visigoths. However, the real test is whether the Bush administration designates a "critical habitat" that could help the bear recover.

The administration is so beholden to the oil industry and to a pathetic anti-environmental idealogy that they are going to stall the "critical habitat" for the remaining months of their pathetic rule.

[Morgana LaFey]

8. This absolutely breaks my heart -- so much so I can

hardly allow myself to think about it. But I did sign.