Scientists call for listing of polar bear as endangered

A climate scientist at University of Chicago and 30 of her colleagues from across North America and Europe are urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the polar bear as a threatened species.

“As scientists engaged in research on climate change, we are deeply concerned about the effect of Arctic warming on the polar bear habitat,” said a letter submitted to the Fish and Wildlife Service on June 15. “Biologists have determined that sea-ice is critical in the life cycle of the polar bear and the survival of the polar bear as a species.”

The letter is not a petition, said Pamela Martin from the University of Chicago, who organized the effort, “rather, it was a letter summarizing some key aspects of the best available science on global warming and, in particular, Arctic warming.”

The Center for Biological Diversity, a conservation group, filed a petition with the Fish and Wildlife Service in February 2005, to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

A year later, the Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it would initiate a status review of the polar bear to determine if the species should be proposed for listing.

The letter says “the best available observations demonstrate that Arctic warming is rapid, persistent, and widespread,” and that only a reduction of technologically generated greenhouse gases can prevent further Arctic warming and sea-ice melting.

The scientists summarize evidence on global warming trends, especially in the Arctic, including an increase in surface temperatures, warming of the world’s oceans, the thinning of ice, and thawing of the northern high latitude permafrost.

The letter says for “immediate reductions of greenhouse gas emissions well beyond those that may be considered by some measures ‘sustainable’ emissions rates are therefore imperative. We urge the Fish and Wildlife Service to acknowledge the threat of Arctic warming on the polar bear.”