Word: beare
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...secret that polar bears are in very deep trouble, and have been for a while. There are only between 20,000 and 25,000 of them left in the world, divided among 19 populations in Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Russia and elsewhere. Perhaps the best studied of the groups is the Western Hudson Bay population, which scientists have been monitoring since the 1960s. For decades, membership of the group remained relatively stable, at about 1,200 adults and cubs. Between 1987 and 1994, however - precisely the years in which the rise in global temperatures have become the most evident - the number...
...just the fact that the bears are dying that's so alarming, but the way they're dying - and all of it points to a warmer world. Spring ice that the bears rely on as fishing platforms has been breaking up about three weeks earlier than it used to. Though polar bears don't hibernate, they do retreat to dens in the winter to escape bad weather. When they emerge, they badly need to replenish their fat supplies, and slashing three weeks off the dining schedule does not help. Scientists who track bear populations report that fewer cubs are surviving...
...want to build a coal-fired power plant in the Midwest," says Andrew Wetzler, senior attorney for the NRDC. "That requires a slew of federal permits and the polar bear would have to be considered." What's more, the clause requires the government to use the "best available science" in making these determinations, and at this point, the only available - or at least only responsible - science lays the polar bear problem squarely at the feet of global warming...
...protecting a species. The government then has a year to study the question and could ultimately determine that protection is not warranted. This would no doubt lead to more court battles that could indeed run past the expiration date of the Administration itself. What's more, even if the bear is listed, the government is required only to refrain from taking actions that harm the species further. It is not required to remedy existing ones that led to the problem - like tolerating dirty cars with poor mileage ratings. "There has to be some kind of federal nexus to the action...
...polar bear have something powerful on their side, and that's the simple fact that people love them. Like pandas, tigers and other so-called charismatic mega-fauna, polar bears are one of those iconic animals that almost everyone agrees the world would be far poorer without. That's a fight even the most stubborn White House might not want to take on. "There's a legal battle and a public relations battle," says Brendan Cummings, an attorney for the Center for Biodiversity. "I don't think the Administration wanted to lose both of them." The fear of that twin...