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| credit: Steven Kazlowski, Barter Island, ANWR |
Ursus Maritimus lost in a
ruling by the US District Court for the District of Columbia. The court ruled that the United States does not have to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to protect the polar bears' arctic habitat from further global warming. However the court did find that the
4(d) rule under the Endangered Species Act, promulgated by the previous regime and continued by the current administration, which states "incidental takes from [human] activities that occur outside of the current range of the species is not a prohibited act under the ESA" violates the National Environmental Protect Act. The District Court previously ruled that the polar bear is a threatened species, but it is predicted that melting polar ice will kill 10,000 bears. This summer Arctic sea ice reached its second lowest extent on record. Conservation groups led by the
Center for Biological Diversity that represented the polar bear in court
vowed to continue to press the current administration to grant the great white bear endangered status and use the ESA to address greenhouse gas emissions. "The Obama is going to own this issue", said one conservationist for the
National Resources Defense Council. By the court requiring a NEPA review of the rule, "the administration won't be able to hide behind a Bush-era policy on an issue the public clearly cares about."
