Wednesday
Apr022008
Senators spar over listing polar bears as endangered
Wednesday, April 2, 2008 at 4:01PM
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing to investigate the delay on listing of the polar bear on the Endangered Species Act. Also present were ranking member Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Sen. John Barraso (R-WY). Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne was invited, but sent a letter to the committee declining to appear because he is a named defendant in a court case on the subject of the delayed listing.
Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) made a strong opening statement saying that the Bush administration has not followed the law by delaying the listing of polar bears under the Endangered Species Act. "The Bush administration does not have the right or the discretion to not carry out the law," she said. She said that the Bush administration was foot dragging on this listing while at the same time authorizing new oil and gas drilling in the Chukchi Sea where 20 percent of the world's polar bears live.
Boxer and her Republican colleagues had a bit of a back-and-forth before the witnesses were able to testify. Both quoting from the Bible, Boxer and Inhofe sparred over the concept of protecting "God's creation" Inhofe quoted Romans saying that false gods should not be made out of creation to be praised over the creator. Boxer responded, "You're correct, liars should not be praised."
Two out of the three witnesses testified that the administration has delayed and held up litigation about listing the polar bear. Dr. Douglas Inkley, senior scientist for the National Wildlife Federation testified that global warming is indeed negatively affecting polar bears and that his research indicates that two-thirds of the world's polar bears will disappear by 2050 due to ice loss caused by global warming trends.
William Horn, a lobbyist who lobbied Congress in the 80s to open parts of Alaska for drilling testified that listing polar bears as endangered opens up a "Pandora's box" of other unwarranted listings and that putting the polar bear on the list would make the Endangered Species Act into a "regulatory monster" which would negatively affect U.S. energy-sector business development. Horn emphasized that the fact that polar bear endangerment could be foreseen for the future does not merit an endangered listing now, saying that he viewed the species as healthy
Kassie Siegel from the Center for Biological Diversity said that the administration has rushed to allow oil and natural gas development in areas of polar bear habitat, but only delay on the listing of polar bears as an endangered species. Siegel said that the listing was intentionally delayed in order to facilitate the sale of parts of the Chukchi Sea for new oil and gas development, another threat to polar bears and their habitat.
Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) made a strong opening statement saying that the Bush administration has not followed the law by delaying the listing of polar bears under the Endangered Species Act. "The Bush administration does not have the right or the discretion to not carry out the law," she said. She said that the Bush administration was foot dragging on this listing while at the same time authorizing new oil and gas drilling in the Chukchi Sea where 20 percent of the world's polar bears live.
Boxer and her Republican colleagues had a bit of a back-and-forth before the witnesses were able to testify. Both quoting from the Bible, Boxer and Inhofe sparred over the concept of protecting "God's creation" Inhofe quoted Romans saying that false gods should not be made out of creation to be praised over the creator. Boxer responded, "You're correct, liars should not be praised."
Two out of the three witnesses testified that the administration has delayed and held up litigation about listing the polar bear. Dr. Douglas Inkley, senior scientist for the National Wildlife Federation testified that global warming is indeed negatively affecting polar bears and that his research indicates that two-thirds of the world's polar bears will disappear by 2050 due to ice loss caused by global warming trends.
William Horn, a lobbyist who lobbied Congress in the 80s to open parts of Alaska for drilling testified that listing polar bears as endangered opens up a "Pandora's box" of other unwarranted listings and that putting the polar bear on the list would make the Endangered Species Act into a "regulatory monster" which would negatively affect U.S. energy-sector business development. Horn emphasized that the fact that polar bear endangerment could be foreseen for the future does not merit an endangered listing now, saying that he viewed the species as healthy
Kassie Siegel from the Center for Biological Diversity said that the administration has rushed to allow oil and natural gas development in areas of polar bear habitat, but only delay on the listing of polar bears as an endangered species. Siegel said that the listing was intentionally delayed in order to facilitate the sale of parts of the Chukchi Sea for new oil and gas development, another threat to polar bears and their habitat.
Polar bear officially a threatened species
Kempthorne said that three findings contributed to this announcement of listing the polar bear as a threatened species. The first is that polar bears need sea ice to survive, the second is that sea ice is receding, and the third is that sea ice is going to recede in the future. He said last year sea ice was at its lowest level ever recorded, and that scientific models project both a decline in sea ice and a decline in polar bear population.
Kempthorne said that the ESA is one of the least flexible laws Congress has ever enacted, and that it prevents him as secretary from “taking into account economic conditions and adverse consequences” when making listing decisions. He said the threat to polar bears comes from the effect of global influences on sea ice, but that this listing will not stop global change or prevent the melting of sea ice. He said any real solution will require action “by all major economies for it to be effective.” He explains that this is why he is taking “administrative and regulative action to make sure ESA isn’t abused to make global warming policies.”