Albino Picnic Basket Theif Threatened by Fossil Fuels

As if the human race had not gone far enough in endangering pandas, and completely eliminating the dodo, now it seems we are hell-bent on the destruction of the gentle (well, almost) polar bear. We seem to be up to our old tricks again, this time providing a slow, painful death to a creature not with guns, pesticides, speeding vehicles…well, actually, the vehicles certainly are not helping. This time, Global Warming seems to be the cause of the polar bear’s population decline.

However, the Bush Administration officially listed the polar bear as a threatened species, according to the Endangered Species Act, making it the first animal species to be placed on the list due to the effects of Global Warming. That’s right, Mr. Gore. People are listening…almost.

For those of you who do not know, “threatened,” according to the Endangered Species Act, or ESA, means that it is not quite “endangered,” but things aren’t exactly sitting pretty. The decision came after a U.S. District Court in Oakland chose to enforce a May 15 deadline; Of course, the original deadline to decide the fate of the polar bear was set for January 9, but I suppose some more important issues came up…like steroids in baseball, or Jenna Bush’s wedding, or the endless battle over superdelagates, or whatever it is that people in Washington’s inner circle talk about these days.

The greater issue, of course, is that the ESA provides that the habitat for the endangered or threatened species will be conserved and protected, and a plan must be put into place to assist in the recovery of the species’ population. Since global warming seems to be the issue surrounding the declining polar bear population, could this mean that the Bush Administration is taking a greater stand against Global Warming?

Don’t count on it. According to the L.A. Times, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said that listing the polar bear as a threatened species should not open the door to use the ESA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, power plants and other sources. That would be a wholly inappropriate use of the Endangered Species Act. The ESA is not the right tool to set U.S. climate policy.” Of course, Secretary Kempthorne did not happen to mention what exactly we ARE planning on doing.

Since our government has decided to recognize, and rather avoid the problem of global warming, consider this my one and only plea for environmental action.

Now, I am hardly, as they say, “green.” I know I should drive a hybrid instead of my 15 mpg, gas-guzzling van. I should stop running the water between shaving and brushing my teeth in the morning, and I really should not leave my computer running 24/7. But I have installed those funny-looking compact fluorescent bulbs…it’s a start, and its something small that everyone could do.

Take the time to turn off the lights when you leave a room, try carpooling when you can. If I can do it, anyone can. Unfortunately, we only get one planet (at least for now….Mars, your day will come…), and we should try to protect it, and the creatures that live on it, as much as we can…including polar bears, pandas, or any other bear-like animal or picnic basket thief . Make an effort to protect what is yours: your home, your planet.