The Polar Bear Fiasco

Well, the wacko environmental nitwits have scored a major victory with the recent kerfuffle about polar bears.  In case you haven't seen it, polar bears have been added to the 'threatened' species list due to global warming.  Problem is, they're not threatened.  In fact, they're in just about the best shape they've been in since anyone was counting.  Senator Jim Inhofe provides some numbers:

Lost in the debate is the fact that polar bear numbers have dramatically increased over the past forty years – a fact even liberal environmental activists are forced to concede. According to Canadian scientists, 11 of the 13 bear populations are stable, with some increasing. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now estimates that there are currently 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears. These numbers are substantially up from lows estimates in the range of 5,000-10,000 in the 1950s and 1960s.

Once again, environmentalists never allow facts to get in the way of their hysteria.  Though the ruling was made on the 'best available' data, that data is largely computer modeling that is suspect at best:

"Essentially, the polar bear's population numbers are up five times from 40 or 50 years ago. The entire listing is based on unproven computer model scenarios. Notice I didn't say 'forecast' because even the UN climate models now admit that these climate models are not predictions or forecasts; they're merely scenarios," he explains. "So they're basing it on these computer models, which top forecasting experts – one of them being Dr. Scott Armstrong from University of Pennsylvania – [have] said ... violate the basic methodology used [and] the basic principles of forecasting," [minority communications director for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Marc] Morano contends.

Why is this a big deal?  Because, the flimsy argument these lobbyists used to get polar bears listed is that greenhouse gas emissions were causing ice to disappear, which is endangering the habitat of polar bears.  Now that polar bears are protected, the government is forced to take further actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Guess what that means?

More regulation, more restriction, more money out of your pocket.  And all to protect an species that has quintupled its population in the past half century.

How's that for environmental lunacy?

Fortunately, there is a bit of sanity on the horizon:

Alaska GOP Gov. Sarah Palin is taking on the Bush administration's eco-pandering decision to put polar bears on the threatened species list. Via Reuters comes news that Alaska will file suit to block the move. With staunch, sane, principled conservatives like Gov. Palin and Sen. James Inhofe taking a stand, there's hope–however dwindling–for the GOP yet.

Here's the reason she's trying to stop the listing:

The Republican governor has argued that the ice-dependent polar bear, the first mammal granted Endangered Species Act listing because of global warming, does not need additional protections.

"We believe that the listing was unwarranted and that it's unprecedented to list a currently healthy population based on uncertain climate models," said Alaska Assistant Attorney General Steven Daugherty.

Even though [U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk] Kempthorne enacted a rule aimed at precluding any new restrictions on oil and gas operations as a result of the listing, the Palin administration believes a wide variety of other development activities in Alaska would be hampered if the listing goes through, Daugherty said.

Any development or activity requiring federal permits or using federal funds would have to engage in a "consultation" process to ensure that polar bears are not harmed, he said.

That consultation, mandated by the Endangered Species Act, "is a long and time-consuming process," he said. "It's just, basically, a big time-and-money-waster."

But wait...there's more!  Here's the really fun part:

The Bush administration's listing was an act of submission in the face of lawsuits from environmental activist groups.

As usual with acts of submission, this one didn't satisfy the demanders. They've gone back to court to sue because the listing doesn't "include steps against global warming."

So, let's summarize.  The fact is that the polar bear population is robust, about five times what it was half a century ago.  Due purely to the threat of lawsuits from environmentalist wackos, the decision was still made to list polar bears as 'threatened' using a computer model of a scenario that might happen in the future as justification.  As a result, the economy of Alaska -- via decreased industry, lost jobs, more regulation, and a lengthy consultation process -- will take a major hit.  As if that wasn't enough, these same environmentalist wackos are still pushing for further concessions about global warming itself.

The point here is that REAL PEOPLE are going to be harmed because of this!  This is a microcosm of the entire environmentalist movement, and I hope you understand what's going on here.  Hysteria combined with lawsuits based on limited/faulty data are going to damage the Alaskan economy.  This is what these environmentalists want for the entire country, and the entire world!  Don't believe me?

Now that they've gotten the polar bear protected, they're after the Pacific walrus, again despite the fact that it is not in danger.  This destructive nonsense won't stop until Americans finally wake up and demand -- DEMAND -- a stop to it.

There's my two cents.