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Alaskan polar bears moved one step closer to receiving federal protection under the Endangered Species Act on Tuesday. The Bush administration has been dithering for months about whether the bears need help, while handing out billions of dollars in oil and natural gas leases in prime polar bear habitat, as previously reported in Salon here and here. The Department of the Interior wanted to keep delaying until June 30 before making a decision about whether the bears, which depend on melting Arctic sea ice, deserve federal protection as a result of global warming.
Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that all this federal foot-dragging is illegal, ordering the Bush administration to make a decision about the bears' status by May 15 at the latest. The ruling was a victory for environmental groups like the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Greenpeace, which had brought suit over the delays: “The federal court has thrown this incredible animal a lifeline,” said Andrew Wetzler, director of the NRDC's endangered species project, in a statement. “The Endangered Species Act requires the decision to be based solely on science, and the science is absolutely unambiguous that the polar bear deserves protection.”
Early signs: Reports from a warming planet
U.C. Berkeley journalists traveled the world to report on the front lines of climate change.
By Sandy Tolan, from Salon
Bjørn Lomborg feels a chill
Global warming doesn't faze the infamous author, who argues that polar bears are doing fine and Al Gore is way too hot under the collar. But can the "skeptical environmentalist" back up his rosy views?
By Kevin Berger, from Salon
Anti-science conservatives must be stopped
Americans must not allow global warming deniers to block the policies needed to avert catastrophic climate change. Our future is at stake.
By Joseph Romm, from Salon
The climate of man – 1
By Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker
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