http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/POLAR_BEARS?SITE=ILKAN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULTDec 27, 12:05 PM EST
Polar Bears May Be Listed As Threatened
By JOHN HEILPRIN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Polar bears are in deep trouble because of global warming and other factors and deserve federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, the Bush administration is proposing Wednesday.
Pollution and overhunting also threaten their existence. Greenland and Norway have the most polar bears, but almost 5,000 live mainly in Alaska and travel to Canada and Russia.
Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne plans to announce later Wednesday that polar bears should be listed as a "threatened" species on the government list of imperiled species, a department official confirmed Wednesday. The "endangered" category is reserved for species more likely to become extinct. snip
The proposed listing also marks a potentially significant departure for the administration from its cautious rhetoric about the effects of global warming.
President Bush's steadfast refusal to go along with United Nations-brokered mandatory controls on carbon dioxide, the chief global warming gas, has contributed to international tension between the United States and other nations.