The lawsuit was filed in federal district court in San Francisco, one
day after scientists released a study documenting that polar bears are
drowning as a result of record low sea ice levels off the coast of
Alaska. The groups filing the suit include the Center for Biological
Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and
Greenpeace.
On Wednesday, scientists with the U.S. Minerals Management Service
released a report documenting the deaths of four polar bears found
drowned in September 2004, when the sea ice had retreated a record 160
miles north of the northern coast of Alaska. The researchers said that
more polar bears may have drowned than had been found.
“Global warming and rising temperatures in the Arctic jeopardize the
polar bear’s very existence,” said Melanie Duchin, a climate campaigner
with Greenpeace. “Polar bears cannot survive without sea ice, and these
bears could disappear in our lifetime if we don’t take action.”
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. The Secretary received another notice
60 days ago, but the groups have received no response. If today’s
lawsuit is successful, polar bears could become the first mammal to be
officially declared at risk due to global warming.
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.
“Listing under the Endangered Species Act will provide important
protections to this majestic animal,” said Kassie Siegel of the Center
for Biological Diversity. “To make sure these bears survive, we need to
reduce the global warming pollution that is melting their habitat.”
Polar bears live only in the Arctic and are totally dependent on the
sea ice. A growing body of evidence shows that the Arctic ice is
vanishing much faster than previously expected. The thick multiyear ice
has been shrinking eight to 10 percent per decade, with some climate
models predicting that the Arctic could be ice-free in summer as early
as 2050.
Polar bears in western Hudson Bay are already showing signs of decline
as a result of sea ice breaking up three weeks earlier than in past
decades. As a result, polar bears spend an extra month onshore fasting
before they can return to the ice in the fall in search of prey. The
Hudson Bay population of polar bears has already dropped approximately
14 percent in 10 years, from 1,100 in 1995 to fewer than 950 in 2004.
“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.
Global warming is caused by heat-trapping pollution such as carbon
dioxide emissions from cars and trucks, power plants, and other sources
that accumulate in the atmosphere and prevent the sun’s heat from
escaping. The United States is the world’s largest contributor of those
emissions.
More information regarding polar bears, global warming, and United
States climate policy is available online at:
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/species/polarbear/index.html,
http://www.nrdc.org/, and http://www.greenpeaceusa.org.
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