Obama Won't Save Polar Bears From Bush's Death Sentence
Boo hoo, Nobama's so-called "empathy administration" sure doesn't have much empathy for the nation's Polar Bears. Mean old George W. Bush wouldn't put the Snow Monsters on the Endangered Species list, and now Barack Obama's Interior Department won't do it, either. Why does this slick street hustler hate nature?
Because, obviously, Polar Bears are white. Somewhere out there, the elites are hiding a videotape of Michelle Obama and Louis Farrakhan leading an anti-Polar Bear parade in Wasilla, in the '60s.
Also, well, the Endangered Species Act is really of no particular use in this case, as the argument for putting the Whitey Bears on this list was that global warming is affecting the ice-ursine habitat. And while that's not really in doubt -- except amongst the WingNuts, who know Alaskausedto be a magical swamp full of dinosaurs who lived with Jesus and his Dino-sciples, which proves there's no such thing as climate change -- thecauseof global warming is, well, kind of global.
The ESA basically gives Fish & Wildlife the ability to go after specific people/companies/whatever to stop them from doing harm to endangered species. If your factory is dumping toxic filth in the river where the Endangered Night Toad spawns, then the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service can stop you from doing that. It's not so helpful when the culprit is, say, all smokestacks and diesel trucks and coal-burning plants all around the world.
So the new Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar, is sticking with the decision of the old Interior Secretary, Dirk Kempthorne, and keeping the Snow Monsters on the Threatened Species list, while the administration tries to deal with climate change through various large-scale deals like renewable energy and carbon cap/trade things and etc., the end.
Environmental groups are pretending to be livid but the just sound goofy:
Today's decision was criticized by environmental groups: John Kostyack, of Defenders of Wildlife, conceded that it would have been difficult to tackle a massive problem like greenhouse gases through the endangered species bureaucracy. But he said that should not be a reason formally to let polluters off the hook.
Each smokestack is "just like buying another pack of cigarettes," Kostyack said. "You're adding to the risk of the species."
What?
Obama Administration Keeps Bush-Era Policy on Polar Bears [Washington Post]