Their home is literally melting away. Scientists think that by 2042 the Arctic summer sea ice will be gone. Ursus Maritimus or nanug is a superb swimmer, but needs ice floes for feeding, resting and hunting. It cannot survive in an open sea. Their population is declining by 20% as well as their size. Many fewer clubs are being born which may be a result of PCB contamination. Despite these clear warning signs, the Bush regime resisted the petitions of environmental activists to list the mammal under the Endangered Species Act. After a lawsuit to force a decision, the regime proposed to list the polar bear as "threatened" under the Act. But for the listing to be made law, an outpouring of public support for one of Earth's largest living carnivores is needed during the official comment period that ends April 9th. Take action now. The World Conservation Union gave polar bears threatened status in May, 2006.
Government officials were forced to admit that rising Arctic temperatures are melting the ice cap. However they still dispute that the temperature changes are caused by human activity. They are keenly aware that a listing for nanug would give activists another weapon in the battle for action against greenhouse gases. The Act would require all federal agencies to ensure their actions do not put the bear at risk of extinction or harm its critical habitat. It would also require a recovery plan with measurable steps for protecting the bear's critical habitat from harm. This is a broad legal mandate that could conceivably alter the way the entire federal government does business. Thus, the Secretary of the Interior recently claimed that eliminating the causes of global warming are "beyond the scope of the Endangered Species Act". Government scientists have been ordered not to discuss global warming in the context of protecting polar bears. Achieving protected status for these magnificent mammals will be a fight against the usual perpetrators.