Redstate

Posted at 11:53pm on May 14, 2008 Thank the Polar Bear for Higher Energy Costs

The Day That ANWR Died

By Bluey

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne gave a new meaning to the Endangered Species Act today. Only in Washington is it possible to call an animal "threatened" that has doubled its population over the past 40 years.

In the case of the polar bear, Kempthorne sided with left-wing activists and global warming alarmists, choosing to list the bear under the ESA -- a cause célèbre for the left.

The implications could be devastating. The decision opens the door for environmentalists and like-minded activist judges to wreak havoc on domestic energy production. Any new coal-burning power plant will be the subject of a lawsuit. And the long-running goal of opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration is now officially dead.

There are few issues where I agree with Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), but this is one of them. "This abuse of Endangered Species law will have a devastating impact on the entire nation through endless litigation and regulation," he said.

Global warming alarmists are already salivating at the thought of what harm they can impose. The Sierra Club noted that a "listing will help us use the technology and tools we have to combat global warming."

Of all the animals the Interior Department could have listed because of global warming, the polar bear hardly warrants protection. It's population stands at 20,000 to 25,000, more than double the number from the 1960s. Unfortunately, as a result of the Bush administration's unwise action, Americans will be left to suffer with higher energy costs by relying even more heavily on foreign oil.

Posted in Endangered Species Act | Energy | Global Warming | Polar bears — Comments (23)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 4:02pm on May 13, 2008 Global Warming Alarmists Using Polar Bear as a Pawn

Why it shouldn't be listed under Endangered Species Act

By Bluey

The Washington Post devoted its KidsPost page today to a sympathetic plea for the polar bear -- the predatory creature that environmentalists want listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. With a decision looming on Thursday for the Bush administration, the Post is apparently pulling out all stops, including liberal spin for kids.

Although the Post devotes just one paragraph in a 534-word article to the negative ramifications of listing the polar bear, there are plenty of reasons for Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to ignore the advice of environmentalists. Let’s start with a few of the consequences outlined by nine U.S. senators in a letter to Kempthorne last week:

• The worldwide polar bear population is somewhere between 20,000 and 25,000 today -- more than double the 8,000 to 10,000 that were living in the 1960s. If and when the Endangered Species Act is used, it should protect species with declining populations.

• Listing the polar bear is really just a ploy by environmentalists to shut down any chance of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge or explore for oil in other parts of Alaska. Bloomberg columnist Kevin Hassett says listing the polar bear could mean $200-a-barrel oil. At a time when America is growing increasingly dependent on foreign sources of oil, now is not the time to clamp down on domestic exploration.

• Set aside all the compassionate gibberish from WWF and it becomes clear why the polar bear is just a pawn: environmentalists will turn to activist judges citing the Endangered Species Act to halt construction of new power plants and factories that emit fossil fuels. The Green Policy Fairness Coalition already cites efforts by global warming alarmists to use lawsuits against the federal and state governments bypass the legislative process.

The nine Republican senators who signed the Kempthorne letter -- Jim DeMint (S.C.), Tom Coburn (Okla.), Jim Inhofe (Okla.), Mike Enzi (Wyo.), Saxby Chambliss (Ga.), John Cornyn (Tex.), Orrin Hatch (Utah), Wayne Allard (Colo.) and John Barrasso (Wyo.) -- deserve praise for standing for sound principles. Meanwhile, the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, Jon Kyl (Ariz.), also opposes listing the bear, telling bloggers yesterday it would open the door for environmentalists to do devastating harm to America’s energy needs.

The decision should be simple for Kempthorne. Caving to radical environmentalists who want to use the Endangered Species Act to achieve their goals is the wrong approach. It’s not about the polar bear for the left; it’s really a ploy to impose even higher energy costs on Americans.

Posted in Endangered Species Act | Energy | Global Warming | Polar bears — Comments (8)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 11:16am on Apr. 29, 2008 Judge Orders Polar Bear Decision by May 15

By Vladimir

Just how much do environmentalists want energy to cost?

Judge gives government until May 15 to decide whether polar bears are threatened species [emphasis added]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Associated Press) -- A federal judge has ordered the Interior Department to decide within 16 days whether polar bears should be listed as a threatened species because of global warming.

Posted in Endangered Species Act | Energy | Junk Science | Polar bears — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Read More »