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Protecting polar bears gets in way of drilling for oil, says governor

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The polar bear should be removed from the endangered species list because its protected status will hamper drilling for oil and gas in Alaska, the state's Republican Governor has demanded.

Sarah Palin is suing the Bush Administration over its decision last week to place the animal under the protection of the Endangered Species Act, claiming that climate models predicting the continued loss of sea ice - the main habitat of polar bears - are unreliable.

The lawsuit came as a surprise because most of the outcry after last week's decision came from environmental groups. Although pleased that the Bush Administration had singled out climate change as a reason to place an animal under the protection of the Endangered Species Act, the green lobby were dismayed about restrictions attached to the listing.

Yet the Governor of Alaska - a state whose residents overwhelmingly support oil exploration - is arguing that the polar bear does not need added protection, and the bear populations have increased significantly over the past 30 years because of conservation. Ms Palin maintains that any commercial development in Alaska requiring federal permits or funding would have to go through a consultation process - described by Steven Daugherty, Alaska's assistant Attorney-General, as “basically a big time-and-money waster”. .

In a stark warning last year, scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Centre said that the total Arctic ice cover had melted to its lowest level in modern times, and that if melting rates continued the summertime Arctic could be ice-free within 80 years.

Kassie Siegel, of the Centre for Biological Diversity, said that it was unconscionable for Ms Palin to ignore overwhelming evidence of global warming's threat to the polar bear's habitat. “Even the Bush Administration cannot deny the reality of global warming,” she said. “The Governor is aligning herself and the state of Alaska with the most discredited, fringe, extreme viewpoints by denying this. “She is either grossly misinformed or intentionally misleading, and both are unbecoming. ”

Dirk Kempthorne, the US Interior Secretary, who made the listing, said that it was based on three findings. “First, sea ice is vital to polar bear survival; second, the polar bear's habitat has dramatically melted; third, sea ice is likely to further recede in the future.”
jefftego

40 responses // Protecting polar bears gets in way of drilling for oil, says governor

  • http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5i9JgWmJNO...
    Polar bear hunters say they'll seek new markets after bears declared threatened


    "There's more Americans who want to shoot polar bears than any other nationality," Gregg Severinson, director of Cabela's Outdoor Adventures, a major U.S. outfitter and gear supplier, said Thursday.
    twodee
  • Hmmm... wonder which side our government's going to side with?
    ivxx
  • The polar bears last natural habitat...and again the destruction for gas and oil goes on..there are alternative fuels that should be getting used now and we really should be weening off of the oil syndrome that generates great wealth for little expenditure these days..time to say No to oil companies exploiting the indefensable..
    mcwally
  • Greed and shortsightedness apparently are traits not confined to the contiguous 48 states... go Republicans!
    korourke
  • We do not need more oil we need a new way to run cars
    pre_cell
  • We need to bomb the s*** out of Iran and Iraq for the f***tons of oil in the region, regardless of all the humans living there.

    Sounds about right.

    If governments can't care less about human lives getting in the way of their endeavours, I doubt polar bears will. That being said, its not a reason to give up trying to stop them.
    _Hayko
  • no we don't
    twodee
  • Perhaps a fence to keep the bears away from the drilling equipment could be the solution.
    stewiegriffin
  • @stewiegriffin:
    not if you're destroying their habitat.

    Here polar bears, have this 1km x 1km pitch of ice slab.
    _Hayko
  • THE BEARS!!!!!!!
    phukna
  • everything is gonna melt in alaska, there will be no way to transport the oil-the pipelines will break and the trucks will sink into the melting ice. what a joke. oil is so old but we're still scrambling around for every bit we can find. we need to grow up
    sidcarr
  • How is having a pipeline run through their territory endangering them in the first place?

    Its more safe than running ships to and from the oil drill and risking leaking or breaking.
    a_mo
  • Just shows how greed can affect peoples inclination to change for the better. It seems as major corporate leaders and influences will do anything to benefit themselves without truly considering the repercussions to the masses. The technology is out there, but Im not seeing the urgency to change for the better coming from the people who can really make a difference. Their wallets are getting filled, so I guess they dont have to worry.........
    Scottishman
  • We already knew the polar bears we in the way, that's why they'er not an endangered species yet.

    Anything that alters an animals natural habitat is endangering. Just look as the basic quality of life for us as humans. Those of us that live in metropolitian cities have poorer air and water quality than those in more rural areas. We're directly affected by our greed, be it money, comforts, etc. Don't get me wrong, I'm a city girl, but we generally have options, the poor bears don't. They don't know what a pipeline may do to their development or food supply. I'm all for new development, and I'm by no means some type of activist, but the powers that be, the ones making these decisions, know and should be more responsible.
    1love
  • Actually Clay, what you are considering is stupid and naive. Why the hell would we tear apart the planet just to prolong an unsustainable system? Why don't we switch to something that we never to put any more effort into again?

    Your concept of the future seems to be about 5 years from now. Look beyond your own narrow and insignificant life.
    Saladin
  • Saladin, you are the one being stupid and naive. The technology doesn't exist to just make a magical switch like that. Altneratives are being looked into, but apparently not at a speed that is sufficient for you.

    There is no magical substitute for oil, it is cheap and produces more energy than most alternatives, except for nuclear.

    The oil in alaska is ours and we will take it one day. I am just thinking that a pipeline would be a better choice than risking freighters and can crash and cause a disaster to the environment.
    a_mo
  • Alaskan oil is not a short term answer either:

    http://current.com/items/88975313_arctic_drilling_would...
    jefftego
  • I think local environmentalists should drape the Governor's house with strips of bacon and wait for the Polar Bears to eat him alive.
    benjaminV
  • http://www.dailymantra.com/2008/05/oilloving_alaska_gov...
    Palin was the first woman to hold office in Alaska, and was also the youngest governor ever to be sworn in. She likes snowmobiling and moose burgers, is against same-sex marriage, and was an athlete and a beauty queen prior to taking up politics. Obviously she didn't win her Miss Wasilla 1984 pageant title by promising to "help children and animals."
    AndreaKnoll
  • I wonder how she'd feel; stuck floating on a piece of ice in the middle of the ocean until it melted to nothing. Give the polars a chance to survive.
    jaxgrfx
  • clayjj05, The oil is going to run out anyways, it's really just whether or not you or the people fighting against their protection are heartless enough to put your own convenience above the many lives of an extrodinary species; which by the way wouldn't be in trouble if it weren't for us. And are you going to keep on smiling when the prices rise to $10 or $15 a gallon?
    Sara_Airey
  • clay is right we have a lot of oil right here in the u.s. that is just not being drilled for. enviromentalist groups have stoped drilling of the coast of california and florida in anwr we are the only country doing this . so in turn we are forced to by forign oil to keep up with demand. the markets go up and down but right now there is less of a surplus so that drives prices up.
    sephig
  • Something tells me that this is going to lower her approval ratings by, oh I don't know, A LOT.
    Dmitri_Molotov
  • You have such an abundant vocabulary: omfg and retarded. That's speaking at a university level. HA. You are quite the intelligent person, now aren't you? First of all I wasn't born until 20 years after the 70's, so no I don't remember because I didn't have a memory then, nor a body. Second of all, of course running out of oil is a possibility. We are using it too fast for it to be naturally replenished. Could you try responding a little more maturely this time?
    Sara_Airey
  • Global warming is causing all that ice to melt. The polar bears are in danger. But the polar bears are getting in the way of drilling for oil. Whereas oil, as I believe, when used, emit gases that aid to global warming... that is causing all that ice to melt. Whoa, I think we just went full circle here.

    How about we don't rely on oil once and for all and just use the sun until that dies out. Then we can use the wind, til it never gets windy. Then let's use water til the earth dries out. Or maybe even man power til the last man dies. Let's exhaust all of our possibilities, then maybe we can turn to oil again.
    pogschampion
  • Great idea. Sad that we would be destined to repeat the same mistake twice though, huh?
    Sara_Airey
  • Look...the search for oil is not going to stop, but at least we, as a species, have the ability to move to a different habitat, city or country and be able to adapt. The Arctic is all that Polar Bears know and if (and when) we start to drill there, they will be no more. The fact is, is that humans have been involved in driving many animal species to extinction for our own wants and needs. We have enough research and technology to develop other energy sources without endangering the whole planetary eco-system.

    Awhile ago, Bush wanted to drill in the Alaskan Refuge, which is the main route for the Caribou to travel and mate every year, do you know what that would do if we cut that off to them?! It's a trickle-down effect where sooner or later humans are going to suffer just as much as any other species that we have affected and/or endangered.
    jaxgrfx
  • Keep it civil, folks
    It's great to see an item generating discussion, but let's keep the conversation focused on the issue. There's no need to make things personal! If you're wondering what's acceptable, try checking out our community standards http://current.com/s/community_standards.htm.
    ocanada
  • As long as America needs oil to function as a country then oil is important and Polar Bears are not. If one wants to save the polar bear then they need to find alternative ways that WORK for America to function. Otherwise, move over Polar Bears it's time to drill for some Alaskan Black Gold.
    J_Jammer
  • Gosh. If we could just teach Polar Bears how to drill...
    huntre
  • @ clayjj05

    If there's so much oil as you say, why do we need to drill?

    "Saudi Arabia has 20 timeshat, Iran has 10 times that, Iraq has 10 times that, Russia has 10 times that, South America as a whole has 20 times that "

    Using your base of 60 years, I come up with 6600 years of oil, By your math. Doesn't seem to be any need to look for more.

    Using a more realistic, even a conservative one, there's still decades of oil left, plenty of time to wean the "poor people" you seem to be self-righteously defending from oil. Lower income groups ARE the ones most vulnerable to this dependence on oil, because they are beholden to non-renewable resource controlled by a cabal and an oligopoly.

    Also, you might want to look up the word liberalism. I don't think it means what you think it does. That is, unless you oppose the causes for which people died in the American and first stages of the French Revolutions. They were the ones most inspired by Locke and his ilk.
    kafkaesque
  • HOLY CRAP! They're polar bears! They freaking rule and are awesome... not to mention beautiful...

    anyways, claiming that they should be declared "non-endangered" so they can leach Alaska of its oil is just... really pathetic. I'm pretty sure anyone who doesn't see that it's time to concentrate on moving away from oil as soon as possible is tarded. Easier said than done I understand, but leave those damn bears alone!
    Alex_French
  • Maybe this is a lesson for all of us to start leading a more sustainable life! Today they are taking away the polar bears home, tomorrow they'll be drilling under your's.
    caffeine
  • This is what happens when the government allows gas and oil company's to run the show. Endangering the world and the animals in it seems a little irrational to me. You'd think that after they've already drained most of us of what money we have, they'd finally give in. But no, they think they have to move on into the endangered species list. Greedy bastards.
    nikki185usa
  • Wow. I'm sad to admit that I'm American when I see stuff like this.
    LarissaDistler68
  • When getting oil gets in the way of species lives we've gone to far...... We are to dependent on oil.
    We should stop going to the mall everyday and stop wasting gas.
    HHO is the wave of the future.
    Fuzzy_Chaos
  • Car companies are working hard to bring hydrogen cars to the public, but in the meantime we need more oil. If we don't drill our own, we are just letting giving dictators who hate us lots of money and relying on them to be environmentally friendly when they drill. Does anyone think that Iran and Venezuela are more careful environmentally than the US? You are outsourcing polution.

    Remember the Exxon-Valdez, that happened shipping foreign oil to the US not drilling our own. Environmentalists said that the Alaskan drilling we are already doing said that it would hurt the caribou up there, but they are thriving. (BTW so are the polar bears, their numbers are up to about 25,000 from something like 5,000 in the '70's.)
    historyeducation
  • i notice no-one addressed the fact that Inuit indians will starve if there aren't any polar bears for rich big game hunters to kill - no one really cares about the natives do they ? too busy bitching about wanting cheaper gas in their cars , while the poor "natives" , who've been killing polar bears since the last ice age , and live in "harmony " with their " environment" , aren't even discussed . sure , save the bears - and then prosecute Inuits when they kill them ....
    malathion
  • See what happens when you care too much? You focus on pain that is going to happen anyway. You fail to realize what is important at the moment and you care more about things you don't live near and fail to care about things that help you live.
    J_Jammer
  • If something can be sold, someone will obtain it, someone will sell it, someone will buy it, someone will profit from it, someone will posses it, but we all pay the price. And the real cost isn't just dollars & cents, but also: time, effort, energy, blood, sweat, tears, unforeseen economic pitfalls, excessive debt, resource depletion, ecological irresponsibility & an ignorant lack of foresight owed to future generations for a start. Yesterday it was the pupfish, today it's the polar bears, so what will it be tomorrow? Who or