Polar bears likely to become endangered in 45 years

Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne says that todays decision to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act is based on three findings: “first, sea ice is vital to polar bears’ survival; second, the polar bears’ sea ice habitat has dramatically melted in recent decades; third, computer models suggest sea ice is likely to further recede in the future.” He says that due to this lose of habitat, polar bears are “likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future, in this case 45 years.” (0:30)
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Endangered Species Act: “perhaps the least flexible law Congress has ever enacted”

The decision to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is announced by Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne. He says the ESA is “perhaps the least flexible law Congress has ever enacted.” Kempthorne also announces that “this listing decision will be accompanied by administrative guidance and a rule that defines the scope of impact of my decision in order to protect the polar bear while preventing unintended harm to the society and the economy of the United States.” (0:31)

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Bible battle over polar bears

During a hearing investigating a delay in listing polar bears as endangered the chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) quoted Genesis. After his opening statement Jim Inhofe (R-OK) quotes scripture to highlight his point that there is too much attention being paid to polar bears. (0:40)
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Listing the polar bear would be "devastating"

Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) says that listing the polar bear as endangered because of global warming would have the devastating effect of requiring the federal government to regulate all carbon-emitting behavior caused by humans. (0:41)
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