Polar bear officially a threatened species
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced today his decision to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA protects vulnerable species with two classifications: endangered, meaning the species is in danger of extinction, or threatened, in that the species is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future.
Kempthorne said that three findings contributed to this announcement of listing the polar bear as a threatened species. The first is that polar bears need sea ice to survive, the second is that sea ice is receding, and the third is that sea ice is going to recede in the future. He said last year sea ice was at its lowest level ever recorded, and that scientific models project both a decline in sea ice and a decline in polar bear population.
Kempthorne said that the ESA is one of the least flexible laws Congress has ever enacted, and that it prevents him as secretary from “taking into account economic conditions and adverse consequences” when making listing decisions. He said the threat to polar bears comes from the effect of global influences on sea ice, but that this listing will not stop global change or prevent the melting of sea ice. He said any real solution will require action “by all major economies for it to be effective.” He explains that this is why he is taking “administrative and regulative action to make sure ESA isn’t abused to make global warming policies.”
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May 15th, 2008 at 8:06 am
Why Do We Care If Polar Bears Become Extinct?
This is not any sort of revelation: Polar bears declared a threatened species , but it does raise the question: Why do we care? By some estimates, 90% of all species that once existed are now extinct and new species are always taking their place. For the species that’s going to become extinct, for whatever reason, extinction is the end of it. However, for the species that remain, is the extinction of another species good or bad? When Europeans first colonized North America, there was an estimated five (5) billion Passenger Pigeons alive and well in North America. In 1914, they were extinct. Passenger Pigeons didn’t live in little groups, but huge flocks that required extraordinary quantities of hardwood forests for them to feed, breed and survive. Deforestation to build homes, create farmland and over hunting for cheap food decimated their population. The westward drive to grow the United States in the 1800s and early 1900s was incompatible with the needs of the Passenger Pigeon and they literally could not survive in the new North America being carved out by the U.S. economy. The interesting thing about the Passenger Pigeon was the impact its extinction had on another species—man. That impact was essentially none. Man continued to find ways to feed himself through agriculture and other technologies and the United States and its citizens continued to prosper from the early 20th century till today. Whether or not Polar Bears become extinct because of Global Climate Change or other reasons, we need to address the larger question of: Do we care and why? One of the ways a nation, its citizens and the global community can answer that question is addressed by John A. Warden III in Thinking Strategically About Global Climate Change. He asks some interesting biodiversity questions in his post to include How Many Species Is the Right Number and Which Ones?