Polar bears 1, Bush administration 0

Alaskan polar bears moved one step closer to receiving federal protection
under the Endangered Species Act on Tuesday. The Bush administration has been
dithering for months about whether the bears need help, while handing out
billions of dollars in oil and natural gas leases in prime polar bear habitat,
as previously reported in Salon here and here.
The Department of the Interior wanted to keep delaying until June 30 before
making a decision about whether the bears, which depend on melting Arctic sea
ice, deserve federal protection as a result of global warming.
Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that all this federal foot-dragging is
illegal, ordering the Bush administration to make a decision about the bears'
status by May 15 at the latest. The ruling was a victory for environmental
groups like the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense
Council and Greenpeace, which had brought suit over the delays: “The federal
court has thrown this incredible animal a lifeline,” said Andrew Wetzler,
director of the NRDC's endangered species project, in a statement. “The Endangered Species Act requires the
decision to be based solely on science, and the science is absolutely
unambiguous that the polar bear deserves protection.”

― Katharine Mieszkowski, Salon.com