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** EXCERPT ** WASHINGTON – At the National Governors Association conference where she first met John McCain, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin had other business: making her case to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne against classifying the polar bear as a threatened species. Months later she sued Kempthorne, arguing that the Bush administration didn't use the best science in concluding that without further protection, the polar bear faces eventual extinction because of disappearing sea ice as the result of global warming. Palin, McCain's vice presidential running mate, has had frequent run-ins with environmentalists. In her 20 months as governor, Palin has questioned...

Gov Sarah Palin - just another dirty politician  Barbarians for Sarah Palin (front center)!                                               The top 11 things you should know about Sarah Palin:         1) She is presently under investigation http://www.ktva.com/ci_10026165 in Alaska for abuse of power http://voices.washingtonpost.com/washingtonpostinvestigations/2008/08/mccains_vp_pick_palin_facing_e.html        2) She strongly supports big oil (her husband works for oil company BP)        3) She believes creationism should be taught in public schools        4) She is opposed to abortion even in cases of rape and incest        5) She has no federal or international experience.  Prior to being governor (for less than two years) she was only the mayor of a small Alaskan town...

polar bear populations are declining in some areas, are stable in others, but are increasing in some parts. The total population in Canada, where two-thirds of the world's polar bears live, is estimated at 15,500..... The world Population of Polar Bears is 22,000 to 25,000. 50 years ago the world Population of Polar Bears was about 5,000 to 8,000.SUMMARY of: Movements and Population Dynamics of Polar Bears Steven C. Amstrup USGS circa 2002The continuing growth in polar bear numbers, the continuing trend in proportion of dens on land, and perhaps changing freeze-up conditions in the last decade all may be...

An aerial survey by government scientists in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea has recently found at least nine polar bears swimming in open water – with one at least 60 miles from shore – raising concern among wildlife experts about their survival. Geoff York, the polar bear coordinator for WWF's Arctic Programme, said that when polar bears swim so far from land, they could have difficulty making it safely to shore and are at risk of drowning, particularly if a storm arises. “To find so many polar bears at sea at one time is extremely worrisome because it could be an indication...

<p>AP) -- Nine polar bears were observed in one day swimming in open ocean off Alaska's northwest coast, an increase from previous surveys that may indicate warming conditions are forcing bears to make riskier, long-distance swims to stable sea ice or land.</p>

SCIENTISTS have been stunned by the discovery of a shark that had eaten a polar bear. Part of the jaw of a young polar bear was found in the stomach of a Greenland shark in Svalbard, northern Norway. Kit Kovacs, of the Norwegian Polar Institute, said: "We've never heard of this before. "We don't know how it got there. We can't say whether or not the shark took a swimming young bear or ate a carcase.

Bob McLeod is all in favour of protecting Arctic polar bears. But he thinks the Bush administration is being "hypocritical" by trying to do it at the expense of American big game hunters, who spend millions each year seeking polar bear trophies in Canada's North. McLeod, the Northwest Territories' minister of human resources, on Monday opened a four-day trip in Washington to protest a Department of the Interior decision in May that prohibits the import of polar bear hides from Canada. The import ban was automatically triggered when the U.S. listed polar bears as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act,...

Energy: The green light given by the Fish and Wildlife Service for oil drilling off Alaska is being portrayed as an OK to hurt polar bears. But there are so many polar bears, it's the drillers who should worry.Environmentalists rejoiced last month when Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne declared the polar bear endangered. The designation gave them a poster pet for the dangers of global warming and a club to bludgeon oil companies. Last week, however, there was a break in the ice, so to speak. New Fish and Wildlife regulations gave legal protection to seven oil companies that plan to...

Environmentalists have their thongs in a wad because the Bush administration has given oil companies permission to "annoy" and "potentially harm" polar bears. This past week, the Fish and Wildlife Service issued regulations that give legal protection to seven oil companies that are planning to search for oil and gas in the Chukchi Sea off the northwest coast of Alaska. Out of the estimated 25,000 polar bears in the Arctic, about 2,000 supposedly live in or around the Chukchi Sea. Of course, the environmentalists are throwing a fit because they believe that this gives oil companies a blank check to...

ASHINGTON - Less than a month after declaring polar bears a threatened species because of global warming, the Bush administration is giving oil companies permission to annoy and potentially harm them in the pursuit of oil and natural gas.

Less than a month after declaring polar bears a threatened species because of global warming, the Bush administration is giving oil companies permission to annoy and potentially harm them in the pursuit of oil and natural gas.The Fish and Wildlife Service issued regulations this week providing legal protection to seven oil companies planning to search for oil and gas in the Chukchi Sea off the northwestern coast of Alaska if "small numbers" of polar bears or Pacific walruses are incidentally harmed by their activities over the next five years.Environmentalists said the new regulations give oil companies a blank check to...

Republican presidential candidate John McCain voiced support on March 31 for the Polar Bear Conservancy's Antarctic Relocation Program. "This is exactly the kind of creative public-private partnership we ought to be exploring. I support the basic concepts of this program," McCain said. Conservancy biologists and engineers will begin moving the first polar bears to Antarctica on Earth Day, April 22nd, 2008.

A preventive war worked out so well in Iraq that Washington last week launched another. The new preventive war -- the government responding forcefully against a postulated future threat -- has been declared on behalf of polar bears, the first species whose supposed jeopardy has been ascribed to global warming. The Interior Department, bound by the Endangered Species Act, has declared polar bears a "threatened" species because they might be endangered "in the foreseeable future," meaning 45 years. (Note: 45 years ago, the now-long-forgotten global cooling menace of 35 years ago was not yet foreseen.) The bears will be threatened...

ANCHORAGE — Conservation groups said Tuesday they are challenging Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne's attempt to limit collateral economic damage from listing polar bears as a threatened species. The Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council will seek court intervention to address what they say in the No. 1 threat to polar bears: greenhouse-gas emissions that cause global warming and melt Arctic sea ice. Kempthorne, echoing President Bush, said last week the Endangered Species Act was the wrong tool to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Kempthorne that he would propose "common-sense modifications" to make sure the polar-bear listing would...

Here's the essence of the Interior Department's ruling that classifies the polar bear as an endangered species: Over the last 30 years, manmade global warming, an unproved hypothesis based on junk science, has caused Arctic Ocean ice to retreat dramatically, reducing the bear's habitat. Computer models, which when given past data have been unable to predict today's climate, speculate a quickening polar-cap meltdown that would push the bear to extinction by — spin the wheel — 2050, which conveniently is the warmists' target year for the full repeal of the Industrial Revolution. Interior is convinced civilization is causing the world...

After 18 years of a law practice devoted to counseling landowners, home builders and commercial interests affected by the long arm and severe penalties of the Endangered Species Act, I am used to incredulous looks and outraged oaths from clients coming to grips with the Act's incredible burdens on impacted private citizens. "Are you telling me I can't build my Burger King because a Delhi Sands flower-loving fly that has never been seen and is above ground only a few days a year might be near-by?" "I can't build a connector road because the noise from construction might damage the...

The Bush Administration named the polar bear to the “threatened species” list based on computer predictions of the anticipated loss of sea ice due to global warming Tuesday. “Computer models predict sea ice is likely to recede in the future,” said Department of Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. “They [polar bears] are in my judgment likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future, in this case 45 years.” Kempthorne used a series of slides showing images of decrease polar sea ice while making his announcement. They are available here. The polar bear’s classification as “threatened” is a step below “endangered”—a classification...

Regulation: The Interior Department ruled Wednesday that the polar bear will be protected as a threatened species. Why special treatment for an animal whose population has more than doubled over the last 50 years?Because it's politically correct. The polar bear has become such a beloved icon that even a pro-development Republican secretary of the Interior can't muster the courage to say no to the forces of environmentalism. The polar bear is more than just a cuddly looking beast that roams the Arctic region. It's a wishbone in the fight between misanthropic activists determined to send the developed world back a...

If Secretary of the Interior Kempthorne announces that the polar bear is now officially "threatened," the impacts on the American economy will be extreme and almost certainly not anticipated or understood by the public at large.The Endangered Species Act operates in a very unaccountable fashion, and if the polar bear is listed as a "threatened" species, every federal action --the grant of a permit, the award of a grant-- that leads even indirectly to the emission of greenhouse gases will come under at least the theoretical review of the United States Fish & Wildlife Service pursuant to Section 7 of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today announced that he is accepting the recommendation of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dale Hall to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  The listing is based on the best available science, which shows that loss of sea ice threatens and will likely continue to threaten polar bear habitat.  This loss of habitat puts polar bears at risk of becoming endangered in the foreseeable future, the standard established by the ESA for designating a threatened species. In making the announcement, Kempthorne said,...

A FEDERAL judge in Cal ifornia last month or dered the Interior De partment to decide by this Friday whether to list polar bears as a threatened species because of global warming. It's a fine chance for the Bush administration to stand up for common-sense environmentalism and sound science. You see, polar bears are thriving - and will do so under all but the most speculative scenarios of global-warming apocalypse. Any "threatened" listing would be absurd. The case started with a lawsuit filed by Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council in 2005. To settle it, the Fish and Wildlife...

Cannot post. Here is the link:http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aIF14Y3PWiTE&refer=columnist_hassett

Thursday is the deadline set by a federal judge in Alaska for the Fish and Wildlife Service to decide whether the polar bear is a threatened or endangered species. All the evidence shows the polar bear doesn’t need his help. Environmental groups petitioned for such a listing and sued when a decision was not forthcoming by the deadline. They claimed that global warming had already diminished polar ice, would continue to do so and doom the estimated 23,000 or so bears to extinction by perhaps 2050. If the bears were listed, the service would be obliged to designate “critical habitat.”...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A federal judge has ordered the Interior Department to decide within 16 days whether polar bears should be listed as a threatened species because of global warming. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken agreed with conservation groups that the department missed a Jan. 9 deadline for a decision. She rejected a government request for a further delay and ordered it to act by May 15. "Defendants have been in violation of the law requiring them to publish the listing determination for nearly 120 days," the judge, based in Oakland, Calif., wrote in a decision issued late Monday. "Other...

You know when climate change is biting hard when instead of a vast expanse of snow the North Pole is a vast expanse of water. This year, for the first time, Arctic scientists are preparing for that possibility. "The set-up for this summer is disturbing," says Mark Serreze, of the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). A number of factors have this year led to most of the Arctic ice being thin and vulnerable as it enters its summer melting season. In September 2007, Arctic sea ice reached a record low, opening up the fabled North-West passage that...

Photo Essay only: In case you are wondering, the man did get away.

To some extent, how one views the loss of Arctic summer sea ice depends on how you feel about polar bears, says Ignatius G. Rigor, who last year authored a NASA-led study on sea-ice decline. This is a big loss of habitat for the animals and for local subsistence hunters, this is a retreat or a loss of the surface that they hunt on. But there's good news, too. The benefits of warming to consumers may be substantial, says the Weekly Standard: The Inuit might find better work in the oil and gas sector, as high energy prices and melting...

Stuart Brown describes Norbert Rosing's striking images of a wild polar bear coming upon tethered sled dogs in the wilds of Canada 's Hudson Bay:The photographer was sure that he was going to see the end of his dogs when the polar bear wandered in, but The Polar Bear returned every night that week to play with the dogs.

In 1817, nearly a century before Roald Amundsen first navigated the long-sought Northwest Passage, the Royal Society in London got word of "new sources of warmth" in the Arctic. The society was the Victorian-era equivalent of NASA, and its president reacted with great enthusiasm to the sudden prospect of discoveries "not only interesting to the advancement of science but also to the future intercourse of mankind and the commerce of distant nations." Times change, as does the climate. New sources of warmth are no longer greeted with such good cheer. Last year's "record" melt of sea ice in the Arctic...

Defense: A top al-Qaida expert sees an election year terrorist attack, yet Congress keeps America vulnerable by letting FISA expire. Top Democrats have other priorities: "Time's running out for the polar bear," says one.It could pass for stand-up comedy if the implications weren't so grave. America is now in its seventh week lacking protection from terrorism because the Democratic Congress refuses to renew the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Don't worry, they're not wasting time. Senate Democrats were busy this week pining about the fate of the Arctic's polar bears. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee head Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., charged...

Polar Bears Potential ESA Listing Called ‘Regulatory Monster’ For the second time in the past three months, the EPW Committee conducted a hearing on the decision to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The potential listing of the polar bear under ESA is being promoted by many activists as a way to save the bear. Today’s hearing also focused on the Department of the Interior’s failure to meet its court-ordered and statutory deadlines for making a listing decision and the subsequent lawsuit brought by environmental groups. FACT: Worldwide polar bear population numbers are at or...

BYU bear biologist Thomas S. Smith published a study on the effectiveness of bear spray for deterring aggressive bears. Here he is pictured with an unconscious "mother" polar bear - "If she were conscious, she'd be holding me," Smith said. Also found spray residue actually attracts bearsHikers and campers venturing into bear country this spring may be safer armed with 8-ounce cans of bear pepper spray than with guns, according to a new study led by a Brigham Young University bear biologist. Thomas S. Smith, associate professor of wildlife science, has conducted field work among bears for 16 years and...

(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said the Department of Interior has been "foot-dragging" on listing the polar bear as an endangered species and has asked the department's secretary to appear before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Boxer, chair of the committee, sent a letter to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne late Thursday, asking him to testify at the beginning of April. "In a hearing before the Committee on January 30, 2008, [Fish and Wildlife Service] Director Dale Hall admitted the agency's failure to comply with the Endangered Species Act," she wrote. "He accepted responsibility for this failure and...

Their first steps are tentative as they emerge into the public eye for the first time. To start with, these two polar bear cubs seem painfully shy, sheltered beneath the massive bulk of their mother, Olinka. The three-month-old twin males, born in November at the Schoenbrunn Zoo in Vienna, come out and take turns to examine their strange new surroundings. But slowly growing accustomed to this brave new world, it does not take long before the rocky outcrops and shale-like surroundings become a giant playpen. Ignoring all onlookers, the twins soon bound about like veterans. Climbing over rocks, tripping on...

With the federal government's decision on whether to list the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act expected at any moment, it seems appropriate to step back and assess what the larger consequences of a listing would be for the American people.Most folks are at least vaguely in favor of protecting the polar bear. They're willing to sacrifice, through increased regulation and taxes, to bring about that goal. But the public's eagerness to chip in isn't without limit, and few people realize the far-reaching ramifications of a polar bear listing. The principal basis advanced for protecting the polar bear is...

On thin ice: Environmentalists say polar bears like these in northern Alaska will be in danger if the US allows sales of new drilling leases in the Chukchi Sea, set to begin Wednesday. steve amstrup/ap/u.s. fish and wildlife service/file One lawsuit aims to halt Wednesday's lease sales in the Chukchi Sea. Another would contest any listing of the polar bear as 'threatened.' Page 1 of 2 The political fight over offshore oil and gas drilling in Alaska intensifies this week.Native Alaskans and environmentalists have filed a suit to prevent the federal government's sale of drilling leases in Alaska's Chukchi...

It could be the first species to be listed as threatened with extinction primarily because of global warming. Associated Press A polar bear mother and her two cubs are shown in Wapusk National Park on the shore of Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada in this Nov. 6, 2007 file photo.********************************************** The Bush administration is nearing a decision that would officially acknowledge the environmental damage of global warming, and name its first potential victim: the polar bear. The Interior Department may act as soon as this week on its year-old proposal to make the polar bear the first species to...

U.S. Senate Report Debunks Polar Bear Extinction Fears Report Released on January 30, 2008 U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service estimates that the polar bear population is currently at 20,000 to 25,000 bears, up from as low as 5,000-10,000 bears in the 1950s and 1960s.

URGENT!! Proposed polar bear listing threatens YOUR future!! The Department of the Interior and its Fish and Wildlife Service are getting ready to trample on your rights, drive up your cost of living, and regulate virtually every aspect of your life. You need to act immediately - or your energy and economic life will soon be dictated by climate change alarmists in government agencies, courts and environmental groups. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne is dropping hints that he will declare the polar bear a threatened species - within the next few weeks. If he does, any activity that arguably...

I saw that Coca-Cola is promoting the movie [<a href="http://zenit.org/article-21008?l=english">What Every Parent Should Know About "The Golden Compass"</a>], and I wrote to them to express my feelings about it -- including mentioning that the villains are called "The Magisterium" in the movie. Here is the response I got: "We appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns. "The Golden Compass movie is a story about friendship, love, loyalty, tolerance, courage and responsibility. This movie also provides an opportunity for Coca-Cola to help raise awareness about climate change and the perilous state of the polar bear. "We do not believe that...

A nice snapshot of contemporary values: I saw that Coca-Cola is promoting the movie [The Golden Compass], and I wrote to them to express my feelings about it -- including mentioning that the villains are called "The Magisterium" in the movie. Here is the response I got: "We appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns." The Golden Compass movie is a story about friendship, love, loyalty, tolerance, courage and responsibility. This movie also provides an opportunity for Coca-Cola to help raise awareness about climate change and the perilous state of the polar bear.""We do not believe that this...

Click on the link below for a short sideshow of what appears to be a Polar Bear and Husky engaged in play fighting in Hudson Bay, Canada. Duration about 2:16.

I was hoping to take the weekend off, but I can't leave a good story alone. I saw this New York Times piece on former DNC chair and Clinton hack Terry McAuliffe, basically saying that Hillary had the "Democratic nomination almost sewn up". I decided to leave it alone because it was, if anything, a puff story. It was what I found half way down the page that got me riled. In a box labeled, "On the Issues, Where They Stand. Compare what the 2008 candidates have said on Climate Change, Health Care, Iraq, Abortion and Immigration", there was the...

The most direct route through the Northwest Passage has opened up fully for the first time since records began, the European Space Agency (Esa) says. Historically, the passage that links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Canadian Arctic has been ice-bound. But the agency says ice cover has been steadily shrinking, and this year's drop has made the passage navigable. The findings - based on satellite images - have raised concerns about the speed of global warming. 'Extreme' The Northwest Passage is one of the most fabled sea routes in the world - a short cut from Europe to...

Shrinking sea ice will eliminate nearly all of the world's polar bear population in the next 50 years, U.S. government scientists predict. The U.S. Geological Survey said Friday the two-thirds of all polar bears living in Alaska and Russia will likely die due to loss of summer sea-ice habitat, and only a tiny surviving population will remain on islands in the Canadian Arctic, the Anchorage Daily News reported. Furthermore, there is nothing humans can do to save the bears, the scientists estimate, because efforts to control greenhouse gas emissions and limit hunting and gas development cannot outweigh the effects of...

POLAR BEARS AGAIN A series of reports by the USGS were released Friday predicting tough sledding ahead for the world’s polar bear populations. More than two-thirds of the world's polar bears will be killed off by 2050 — including the entire population in Alaska — because of thinning sea ice from global warming in the Arctic, government scientists forecast Friday. Yet according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), there are 20 distinct polar bear populations accounting for approximately 22,000 polar bears worldwide (up from approximately 8,000 in the 1970s). Populations do not show a temperature linked decline (NCPA 2007). Only...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two-thirds of the world's current polar bear population could be gone by midcentury if predictions of melting sea ice hold true, the U.S. Geological Survey reported on Friday. The fate of polar bears might be even more imperiled than that estimate, because sea ice in the Arctic might be vanishing faster than the available computer models predict, the geological survey said in a report aimed at determining whether the arctic bear should be classified as a threatened species. "Projected changes in future sea ice conditions, if realized, will result in loss of approximately two-thirds of the world's...

Hundreds of thousands of students had their first day of school on Monday. Some of them had to learn to carry guns and be prepared to shoot -- polar bears. Students on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard aren't allowed to leave their village without a shotgun and ammunition. That's because hungry polar bears can be behind every swing on the island.