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| Photo Credit: Alan D. Wilson/Creative Commons license |
We've written here several times about the Senator's defense of the polar bear, and on the occasion of their addition to the endangered species list as 'threatened', it's time to revisit the topic.There's still work to be done, but yesterday was a huge step in the right direction, and the Senator marked the victory with a statement, and a warning:
“Today’s announcement is both a victory and a lifeline for our last remaining polar bears. The next step is to secure the long-term survival of the species by ensuring that the polar bear habitat in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas is protected from the threat of oil and gas drilling. Even while the Interior Department was taking steps to give these bears ESA protection, the Bush Administration opened almost 30 million acres of polar bear habitat to oil and gas exploration, which -- by their own admission -- may ultimately kill polar bears. We need to protect the bears’ habitat, and we must do so now. The polar bear has become the mascot of all we could lose to climate change and it is critical that we fight to save this species even as we wage a larger battle against global warming.”
Video Credit: squishydemon
A year ago this week, Senator Kerry introduced the `Polar Bear Protection Act of 2007'. In January of this year, he proposed S. 2568, a moratorium on leasing in the Chukchi and Beaufort Sea Planning Areas, which stipulates that no drilling occur unless and until "oil and gas exploration and development activities can be conducted in the Chukchi and Beaufort Sea Planning Areas without posing a risk of substantial adverse impact to wildlife or wildlife habitat and subsistence."
I think most people can agree that life without the polar bear is not a good trade off for the possibility of few more gallons of gas in the Hummer. It's not our right, obviously, to spoil the planet, it's our responsibility to protect it, and there are better ways to feed our energy habit than to destroy these beautiful living beings and threaten the culture and livelihood of the local people.
Of course, the administration sneaked in the drilling lease by delaying the endangered species designation. It is, after all, what they do. Thank goodness, though, not for much longer.
