Guest guest Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Feds to consider listing polar bears as threatened Congressional Republicans waging jihad against the Endangered Species Act may soon have a new reason to hate it: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering giving polar bears federal endangered-species protections because climate change is melting their Arctic sea-ice habitat. If the feds are compelled to protect polar-bear habitat, and the habitat is threatened by climate change, then the feds may be forced -- horrors! -- to do something about climate change. Recent data show that Arctic sea ice has declined by 15 to 20 percent in the past 30 years; some climate experts think that there will be no summer sea ice in about 50 years. Some polar bears in Alaska and Canada have become thinner and less able to breed in recent years, and there's evidence that they're drowning as they try to make the lengthening swims between land and ice. The FWS will take public comments for 60 days, review climate-change studies, and announce its decision in 12 months. straight to the source: The Washington Post, Juliet Eilperin, 09 Feb 2006 straight to the source: San Francisco Chronicle, Jane Kay, 09 Feb 2006 speak up: Email the feds with a public comment Have They Asked the Conservative Think Tanks About This? Climate change really screwing things up, say scientists around the world Global warming, neither a far-off abstraction nor the myth some (still!) claim it to be, is already causing mayhem worldwide, according to the latest rash of studies on the topic. In the late 20th century, the Northern Hemisphere experienced its most sustained warm stretch in 1,200 years, report a team of U.K. scientists in the journal Science. In the medical journal The Lancet, Australian scientists warn that climate change will trigger or exacerbate health problems galore, including overheating, allergies, cholera, infectious disease, and starvation. A study by the Swiss Academy of Sciences found that 84 of 91 Swiss glaciers being monitored shrunk in 2005. And the U.N. University is predicting that in less than five years, climate change and other environmental problems may create as many as 50 million environmental refugees. So ... um ... basically there's nothing funny to say about any of this. straight to the source: The Independent, Steve Connor, 10 Feb 2006 straight to the source: The Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Associated Press, 09 Feb 2006 straight to the source: MSNBC.com, 10 Feb 2006 straight to the source: OneWorld.net, 09 Feb 2006 " I challenge anyone to live on my salary " [$158,000 a year]. Tom Delay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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