Scholastic News 4 has asked me to write about polar bears and global warming. A quick Google search reveals that this is quite a touchy issue -- especially since Sarah Palin joined Senator McCain's ticket. As governor of Alaska, Palin has argued against listing the polar bear as endangered due to the lessening of Artic ice. My goal: find some cool-headed experts.
Polar bears were officially listed as a threatened species on May 22, 2008. This follows a full three years of legal battles led by the Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace, and the Natural Resources Defense Council against the U.S. government. The agreement gave the government two years to identify critical habitat for the bears. Any habitat listed as critical will be off-limits for oil drilling.
I will reach out to Bruce Woods (907-786-3695), spokesman from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Survey in Anchorage. Bruce is mentioned in this even-handed article from the AP.
Five lawsuits requesting a de-listing of the bears were filed in Washington. One, from the state of Alaska, was filed on behalf of Sarah Palin, Alaska's governor.
