U.S. officials indicate that they’ve postponed a decision about listing the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act because of global warming. The initial deadline was this Wednesday, but they’ve indicated they need more time.
This would be the first species declared endangered due to climate change, and a threatened listing could put limits on oil and gas development. Is this delay just another political showdown?
The U.S. Geological Survey filed a report in September that indicates that two-thirds of the world’s polar bears could go extinct by 2050 due to loss of habitat.
