Now that the US government is about to start selling oil and gas rights in the Chukchi Sea in Alaska, activists are trying to get the polar bear listed as an endangered species. If they are an endangered species, then authorities would need to go through US Fish and Wildlife for approval to drill in an individual's habitat. The Bush Administration is offering to list it as "threatened." According to activists, this would allow for loopholes and exemptions.
But the Bushies are playing for time.
The US Fish and Wildlife Services last month announced it was putting off a decision on listing the polar bear as a threatened species until after the sell-off of oil and gas drilling rights in Alaska.
"They are trying to wait it out, get the lease-sale through and then make the decision," said {IFAW's Brandon} Frazier.
"That way, they could list the lease-sale as an exemption," he added.
Photo by PlagueX1.
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