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Polar bears heading for Camp David?

By matt

polarbear_7.jpg

Many northern NGOs have been concerned for years about the increasing threat to the frozen habitat of the polar bear. The US government has just agreed to put the polar bear onto the endangered species list. This is as a result of a lawsuit brought by three NGOs against the US government which argued that the predicament of the polar bears is not being urgently dealt with. The NGOs are; Greenpeace; the Centre for Biological Diversity; the Natural Resources Defence Council.

Greenpeace states that, ‘Listing under the United States Endangered Species Act — America’s safety net for plants and animals on the brink of extinction — will provide broad protection to polar bears, including a requirement that United States federal agencies ensure that any action carried out, authorized, or funded by the United States government will not “jeopardize the continued existence” of polar bears, or adversely modify their critical habitat.

This could be the polar bear paw opening the US government back door for eventual discussions of a more serious nature on all things ‘climate change’. With the democrats leading both Houses in just a few days time, the increasing pressure for Bush to acknowledge anthropogenic effects on climate changes could get him rather hot under the collar.

A little negotiation around the table at Camp David between Bush & the bears might do him some good. ;)

This entry was posted on December 30, 2006 at 2:50 pm and is filed under Climate change, Nature & Conservation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 Responses to “Polar bears heading for Camp David?”

  1. earthpal Says:
    December 30, 2006 at 3:37 pm | Reply

    I fervently hope we don’t see images of him trekking around the arctic hugging polar bears in the style of David Cameron. That would be too much to BEAR.

    Seriously, t’is good news.

    Bush’s albeit reluctant acceptance of this dire polar bear situation implies that he will now not only be obliged to support a recovery strategy but that he will have to prevent any worsening of the situation. Meaning of course making drastic reductions of man-made CO2’s (of which the big dork doesn’t believe actually contribute to global warming).

  2. matt Says:
    December 30, 2006 at 5:30 pm | Reply

    Hey earthpal

    You’re back in blogworld. Hope your festivities were enjoyable.

    It’s interesting that these well funded NGOs are increasingly able to force or negotiate change via the courts. More of this for 2007. :)

  3. earthpal Says:
    December 31, 2006 at 1:05 pm | Reply

    Thanks Matt. I had a lovely time. Hope you did too with your little ones.

    Yes, the NGO’s are emerging as a lobbying force not to be ignored.

    Merry New Year celebrations to you. Here’s hoping for a very Green 2007.

  4. inel Says:
    September 9, 2007 at 1:15 pm | Reply

    Hi matt,

    The US government has just agreed to put the polar bear onto the endangered species list.

    I really do hope you can use that reuse that sentence in January 2008. Humans are still only looking into this topic (while polar habitats continue to deteriorate!), because the U.S. Endangered Species Act requires the best available science on which to base any decision. That’s what the nine reports (released by stealth on Friday afternoon) contribute towards, but no decision has been made yet. In fact, Friday’s press release from USGS states, with my emphasis added:

    Future Retreat of Arctic Sea Ice Will Lower Polar Bear Populations and Limit Their Distribution
    Released: 9/7/2007 2:48:28 PM
    Contact Information:
    U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
    …
    Future reduction of sea ice in the Arctic could result in a loss of 2/3 of the world’s polar bear population within 50 years according to a series of studies released today by the U.S. Geological Survey.

    Last December, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) was proposing to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. In January 2008, following a one-year review period, the Service is expected to make a recommendation to Secretary Kempthorne on whether or not to list the polar bear as threatened.
    …

    The newly-released USGS information, presented to the Service in the form of nine administrative reports to be open for public comment, will now be considered within the context of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s one-year review. The Service will analyze it and other information provided by scientists, government agencies and the public in order to arrive at an informed and scientifically justifiable decision. That decision is due in January.

    So, four months to make a difference and comment on the reports …

  5. matt Says:
    September 9, 2007 at 5:44 pm | Reply

    Glad to hear the process is moving in the right direction … so far.

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