The groups include the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural
Resources Defense Council, and Greenpeace. Polar bears would be the
first mammal to be officially declared at risk due to global warming.
“The polar bears’ habitat is melting right out from under them as
Arctic temperatures rise,” said Kassie Siegel of the Center for
Biological Diversity. “Their entire lifecycle, from finding food to
finding mates, depends on these seas being frozen. If things continue
as they are, these majestic animals will be driven out of existence.”
Polar bears, the largest of all bears, live only in the Arctic and are
totally reliant on the sea ice. They feed mainly on ringed seals, which
live in the same habitat. But a growing body of evidence is proving
that the ice is vanishing much faster than previously documented. In
late September, NASA and the University of Colorado released a report
revealing that the Arctic ice cap has shrunk 20 percent since 1979,
losing an area the size of Colorado in just the past year.
“We need to take action now to protect these animals and preserve their
Arctic habitat. We cannot afford to ignore the threat any longer,” said
Andrew Wetzler of NRDC.
Turning Up the Arctic Heat
Last year, the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report, involving 300
scientists from the U.S. and seven other nations, also found that
Arctic sea ice is melting at an alarming rate, and identified global
warming as the cause. Even under conservative estimates, the scientists
said Arctic winter temperatures could rise as much as 18 degrees
Fahrenheit, eliminating year-round ice completely by the end of the
century.
In Canada’s Western Hudson Bay, where the sea ice season has shortened
by three weeks in recent decades, polar bears are already in decline.
Fewer cubs are surviving, and the total bear population declined almost
14 percent from 1995 to 2004.
Global warming is caused by heat-trapping pollution such as carbon
dioxide emissions from cars and trucks, power plants, and other sources
that accumulates in the atmosphere and prevents the sun’s heat from
escaping. The United States is the largest world contributor of those
emissions.
First Petition is Ignored
The groups first petitioned to have the polar bear listed as threatened
last February. The Endangered Species Act requires that the Secretary
of the Interior respond within 90 days of receiving such notice, but
the Secretary has yet to comply. Today’s announcement is a
legally-required notice of intent to sue the agency for action. Formal
filing will occur after the agency has had 60 days from today’s notice
to comply with the law.
Listing under the United States Endangered Species Act 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.
Earlier this year the International Union for the Conservation of
Nature/World Conservation Union’s Polar Bear Specialist Group -- the
leading polar bear scientific body, recommended the bears be classified
as “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List of imperiled wildlife at high risk
of extinction in the wild. The primary reason, they said, is global
warming.
“If we want to save the majestic polar bear, we must cut global warming
pollution,” said Kert Davies of Greenpeace. “We have the know how to
fix the problem, but we need leadership from the U.S. government to
make it happen. Our addiction to dirty energy sources will exact its
price.”
# # #
Greenpeace is a non-profit corporation with 2.7 million members
worldwide that uses peaceful protest and creative communication to
expose global environmental problems and promote solutions for the
future.
The Center for Biological Diversity is a non-profit conservation
organization with over 14,000 members dedicated to the protection of
imperiled species and their habitats.
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit
organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists
dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in
1970, NRDC has more than 1.2 million members and e-activists
nationwide, served from offices in New York, Washington, Santa Monica
and San Francisco.
