The Obama Administration issued a proposed rule yesterday that
disregards the effects of greenhouse gases on polar bear habitat leading
one conservation group to say that the rule echoes former President
George W. Bush's plan, and that it will lead to the extinction of polar
bears.
Kassie Siegel from the Center for Biological Diversity: “President
Obama’s proposal for these magnificent and imperiled animals is a gift
to Big Oil and an affirmation of the pro-industry policies of the Bush
government. (photo: Subhankar Banerjee) Noting that
polar bears are only on the endangered species list precisely because of
loss of habitat caused by greenhouse gases generated from activities
outside the Arctic, the proposed rule excluding activities outside the
range of polar bears from regulations will lead to the bears' demise.
Brendan Cummings of the Center for Biological Diversity called the rule "complete doublespeak," the Associated Press
reports.
"It's saying, 'Here is a rule necessary for the conservation of the
polar bear,' yet the only thing it does is exempt from regulation the
overwhelming threat to the species."
“If polar bears are to survive we have to directly confront the
greatest threat to them: our greenhouse gas emissions,” said Kassie
Siegel, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law
Institute.
“With their sea-ice habitat rapidly disappearing, polar bears need
the full protection of the Endangered Species Act,” said Siegel.
“President Obama’s proposal for these magnificent and imperiled animals
is a gift to Big Oil and an affirmation of the pro-industry policies of
the Bush government. When it comes to saving urgently endangered polar
bears, the only ‘change’ Obama has delivered is more climate change.”
The
rule, released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has 60-day public comment period.
* * *
Center for Biological Diversity: Obama Administration Again Proposes Polar Bear Extinction Plan
New Rule Echoes Bush Plan Ignoring Polar Bears’ Plight Against Global Warming
WASHINGTON - April 17 - The Obama administration announced today that
it is reissuing a Bush-era regulation that sharply limits protections
for polar bears under the Endangered Species Act. Both the current
proposal and the previous Bush rule exclude activities occurring outside
the range of polar bears — such as the greenhouse gas emissions of
industrial polluters like coal plants — from regulations that could help
stop the bear’s extinction. Today’s announcement comes as a result of a
court order that struck down the Bush rule in October 2011.
Polar bears were the first species added to the endangered and
threatened species list solely because of threats from global warming.
Regulations issued under the Endangered Species Act must provide for the
“conservation” of threatened species. Notably, the press release
issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announcing the new
proposed rule today did not mention greenhouse gases or climate change
at all, while the very purpose of the rule is to exempt greenhouse
emissions from the reach of the Act.
“If polar bears are to survive we have to directly confront the
greatest threat to them: our greenhouse gas emissions,” said Kassie
Siegel, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law
Institute. “But the Obama administration seems to be living in a fantasy
world where the way to solve a difficult problem is to deny its
existence.”
The proposed rule severely undermines protection for polar bears by
exempting from portions of the Endangered Species Act all activities
that occur outside of the bears’ range. But the species is endangered
precisely because of activities occurring outside the Arctic —
namely the emission of greenhouse gases and resulting warming that is
leading to the rapid disappearance of summer sea ice.
“With their sea-ice habitat rapidly disappearing, polar bears need
the full protection of the Endangered Species Act,” said Siegel.
“President Obama’s proposal for these magnificent and imperiled animals
is a gift to Big Oil and an affirmation of the pro-industry policies of
the Bush government. When it comes to saving urgently endangered polar
bears, the only ‘change’ Obama has delivered is more climate change.”
The special rule also reduces the protections the bear would
otherwise receive in Alaska from oil-industry activities in its habitat.
When the polar bear was listed as a threatened species in May 2008
(following a petition by the Center), the Bush administration
simultaneously issued a special rule under section 4(d) of the
Endangered Species Act. A similar rule was finalized in December 2008
and defended by the Obama administration in court. On Oct. 17, 2011, a
federal district court judge struck it down owing to the Fish and
Wildlife Service’s failure to conduct an environmental review of the
rule’s impacts.
The challenge was brought by the Center for Biological Diversity,
Natural Resources Defense Council, Greenpeace and Defenders of Wildlife.
Today’s proposal, in response to the 2011 court order, triggers a
60-day public comment period, with the rule scheduled for finalization
by the end of 2012.
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