Decision on Polar Bears Delayed
Polar Bears are waiting for the USA, as the authorities have postponed a decision about preservation of the Polar Bear due to Global Warming
The United States Department of Interior has postponed a decision whether to list the Polar Bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act - a determination of whether global warming is threatening the Polar Bears or not, reports the Danish news agency Ritzau. Environmental activists are angry and say that they will put on more pressure for a quicker decision.
The decision about putting Polar Bears on the list of threatened animals should have been made today, 9 January 2008, but it has been postponed by one month. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has stated it needs more time to review the "numerous comments" received from the public.
According to U.S. authorities, the decision is complicated, as it is the first time ever that the USA will have put an animal on the list due to global warming.
Polar Bears depend on the edge of sea ice when they hunt seals. With no sea ice, the Polar Bears will be forced onto land where they have fewer possibilities to hunt and therefore survive.