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By invoking "inadequate regulatory mechanisms," the proposed rule seems to punt on the issue of whether the Endangered Species Act can stop developments that would harm the polar bear by emitting greenhouse gasses.
Authority to regulate greenhouse gasses is precisely the issue in a major climate-change litigation case that is before the Supreme Court. The EPA has declined to regulate carbon dioxide, saying it does not have the authority to do so. In Massachusetts v. EPA, several states and cities have sued to force the EPA to acknowledge that the Clean Air Act does give it that authority.
But Alaska Governor Sarah Palin doesn't think that anyone has the authority to regulate greenhouse gasses. She opposes the proposed listing, saying in a letter, "When a species' habitat, in this case, sea ice, is declining due to climate change, but there are no discrete human activities that can be regulated or modified to effect change, what do you do?" She raises the specter of lawsuits filed to limit the emission of greenhouse gasses as a result of the listing.
Kieran Suckling scoffs at the idea that there are no "discrete human activities" that can be regulated. "Other countries regulate greenhouse gasses," he said, "that's what the Kyoto agreement is about and we are not doing that."
Suckling thinks that the Bush administration has lost control of the global warming issue and that it is leading them to take desperate measures, such as a recently revealed directive to muzzle Fish and Wildlife scientists on the topic of polar bears and climate change.
The agency is now requiring all scientists seeking travel funds to make a declaration that, "This traveler understands the administration's position on climate change, polar bears, and sea ice and will not be speaking on or responding to these issues."
Suckling says the restriction is unprecedented, and that normally a Fish and Wildlife scientist is free to discuss the science behind a listing rule: "The administration's position is so completely irrational and indefensible that the last thing they want is some scientist talking about it. You'll get a media story that says the Bush administration finally admits greenhouse emissions cause ice melting, and they don't want that. They are back-pedaling like crazy on this one."
At recent public hearings in Anchorage and Washington, DC, polar bear supporters were out in force, far outnumbering the handful of opponents from the oil and gas industry. People love the beautiful snow-white beast that hunts like a man, but they may also see that their own fate is ultimately tied to the polar bear's.
"If you want to know how climate change will affect the rest of the world in twenty years," says Kassie Seigel, "look at the arctic now."
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