Call to action

So the Bush Administration had until January 9th to decide whether or not to protect polar bears under the Endangered Species Act. First they missed the deadline, then they postponed making a decision. Instead, they went ahead with plans to sell oil and gas leases in the Chukchi Sea, a major polar bear habitat, off the Alaskan coast. Here's what all this means: if the administration had added polar bears to the Endangered Species Act, they'd have to take action to protect polar bear habitat. They'd have to, in other words, actively work towards reversing the effects of global warming. They'd have to, let's say, start mandating better fuel efficiency for vehicles (thereby pissing off auto makers and the oil industry). Or they'd have to mandate more stringent caps for greenhouse gas emissions and carbon dioxide emissions (thereby pissing off the energy lobby, not to mention others). Or they'd have to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, which might actually make their collective heads explode (thereby releasing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, I'm sure). So yeah, they don't want to protect polar bears under the Endangered Species Act because they'd have to do lots of things they really don't want to do, like angering the people who line their pockets. Instead, by forging ahead with their oil and gas lease plan, they're making those people happy. Look, the bottom line is that polar bears habitat is fast disappearing, even though it doesn't need to be. Go here to send a message to your representative about putting a halt to the Bush Administration's lease plan. I'd like my nieces to know what polar bears are, when they're old enough. kthnkxbai