Bears Threats to Alaska's Bears
| Governor says polar bear protection as endangered is unjustified |
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Anchorage Daily News / Tom Kizzia / November 1, 2007 Unfazed by new studies predicting the disappearance of polar bears from Alaska, Gov. Sarah Palin is repeating her opposition to listing the bears as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. There's still too much uncertainty about the future melting of the polar ice cap to justify such a listing, Palin told the federal government last week. And declaring any species "threatened" because of possible global warming effects would "open the floodgates" for petitions affecting thousands of other species, she said. Palin said the polar bear has become "a metaphor in the highly charged climate change debate." Those petitioning for protection are using the bears to affect national policy on such distant issues as carbon emissions, which should be addressed in other ways, she said. The Palin administration is skating on thin ice with such arguments, environmentalists say. The emphasis on uncertainty lines up the state against the preponderance of global scientific opinion, which foresees continued warming due significantly to human-caused emissions. |
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