The state of Alaska has sued the U.S. federal government over its decision to classify the polar bear as a threatened species.
Photo: Polar bear; mother and cubs.Credit: Alistair Rae/Flickr
The lawsuit alleges the decision to protect the polar bear will cripple offshore oil and gas drilling development in Alaska's northern waters, and will also affect tourism and fisheries industries.
"We believe that the Service's decision to list the polar bear was not based on the best scientific and commercial data available," said Gov. Sarah Palin at the announcement of the lawsuit.
Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced the listing of the polar bear as a threatened species in a May 13 announcement in response to scientific findings that showed some two-thirds of the world's polar bear population could disappear by 2050 as a result of its disappearing habitat (sea ice) through climate change.
Photo: Polar Bear. Credit: mape_s/flickr
However, Kassie Siegel of the Centre for Biological Diversity , the lead author of the petition instrumental in helping to get the bears listed, has described the move by the Alaskan administration as "completely ridiculous and a waste of the court's time." Siegel said the objections of Gov. Palin had been addressed during the listing process.
"This lawsuit and her head-in-the-sand approach to global warming only helps oil companies, certainly not Alaska or the polar bear," Siegel said in an Associated Press report. "Gov. Palin should be working for sustainable, clean energy development in Alaska instead of extinction for the polar bear."
Other environmental groups have joined the push to have the lawsuit rejected. Melanie Duchin of Greenpeace USA told Reuters that oil companies were the only potential beneficiaries of the legal action.
"The state's lawsuit isn't about the science of global warming and polar bears," said Duchin. "It is merely doing the bidding of oil companies that want to drill for oil in sensitive polar bear habitat, without any concern for how that oil will impact the climate when it's burned."
The lawsuit takes issue with the premise that the polar bear could become endangered by 2050, a timeline the Alaskan authorities reject as arbitrary.
Unbeliveable!Sep 10th, 2008 - 00:04:37
The fact that this story is not being reported in the media is absolutely crazy to me.
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