Govt. sees polar bears as 'threatened'

I just started reading Al Gore's book "Earth in the Balance", since I haven't seen his documentary yet. For a book published 15 years ago, it's still gripping reading. Not to say that it's ancient, it just feels that so much has happened since then, in terms of global warming seeping into our consciousness. It's easy to forget that even then, the problem was on the horizon.

I found this on Yahoo, even the Bush administration has had to admit that polar bears are threatened by global warming, since the land they live on is literally melting away at a fast rate. Maybe if they'd acknowledged that this was a problem requiring the most immediate speed 6 years ago, it'd be a little easier to handle. And of course Yahoo puts an unbearingly (pun not intended) cute picture of a polar bear. Save the polar bears.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061228/ap_on_sc/polar_bears

Govt. sees polar bears as 'threatened'

By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press WriterWed Dec 27, 9:25 PM ET

Polar bears are in jeopardy and need stronger government protection because of melting Arctic sea ice related to global warming, the Bush administration said Wednesday.

The Interior Department cites thinning sea ice as the big problem; outside the government, other scientists studying the issue say pollution, overhunting, development and even tourism also may be factors. Greenland and Norway have the most polar bears, while a quarter of them live mainly in Alaska and travel to Canada and Russia.