Bush Admin Gives Big Oil "Blank Check to Harass the Polar Bear"

Bush Admin Gives Big Oil "Blank Check to Harass the Polar Bear"

16 Jun 2008 08:27 AM CDT

Polar Bears From the Associated Press:

Less than a month after declaring polar bears a threatened species because of global warming, the Bush administration is giving oil companies permission to annoy and potentially harm them in the pursuit of oil and natural gas.

The Fish and Wildlife Service issued regulations this week providing legal protection to seven oil companies planning to search for oil and gas in the Chukchi Sea off the northwestern coast of Alaska if "small numbers" of polar bears or Pacific walruses are incidentally harmed by their activities over the next five years.

Exploring in the Chukchi Sea's 29.7 million acres will require as many as five drill ships, one or two icebreakers, a barge, a tug and two helicopter flights per day, according to the government. Oil companies will also be making hundred of miles of ice roads and trails along the coastline.

The National Wildlife Federation was already suspicious of the Bush administration's commitment to protecting polar bears. Now the Center for Biological Diversity calls this decision "a blank check to harass the polar bear in the Chukchi Sea."


From WWF-Canada
Polar bears listed as threatened in U.S.!

The U.S. government has listed the polar bear as threatened, stating that climate change is destroying vital polar bear habitat, putting the species at risk of extinction. This puts increasing pressure on the Canadian government to recognize and act on the accelerating impacts of climate change on Arctic communities and species, including polar bears.

Listing the polar bear as threatened clearly indicates that climate change impacts are already threatening animals and habitats, and illustrates the urgency of preparing for and adapting to a rapidly changing climate.

This reinforces the urgency of the three actions that WWF-Canada has called on Prime Minister Harper to take: Place a moratorium on new industrial development in areas of high value to polar bears.
Ensure any hunting for polar bears is fully sustainable.
Most importantly, quickly stop, then reverse the rise in Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions, so we are doing our part in the global fight against climate change.

Development in the Beaufort Sea

In May, we asked our supporters to write to members of parliament in an effort to postpone the sale of oil and gas leases in the Beaufort Sea, as these leases overlap prime polar bear, beluga and bowhead whale habitat. Unfortunately, the federal government has allowed these lease sales to go forward.

WWF-Canada fundamentally believes that this lease sale was premature as an ocean management plan for this area that would protect critical habits essential for polar bears, whales and other Arctic species has yet to be put in place.

In addition, as there is no current proven technique for recovering oil spills in such dangerous iced waters, we must ensure that the inevitable oil spills which will occur can be properly cleaned up.

Currently, planning is underway through the Large Ocean Management Area (LOMA) process, co-led by the Inuvialuit and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. However, this planning is not yet complete in the Beaufort Sea. WWF-Canada is a participant in this process.

WWF-Canada will continue to push for a proper plan to be put in place that sets aside ecologically sensitive areas from development as required under the Oceans Act, and to work to ensure that a proper oil spill response capacity is in place before development proceeds.

Thank you for your recent efforts. As this process unfolds, we will continue to keep you updated.