It's official!: Polar Bears endangered of extinction

2007 sees 39 percent below previous long-term average for loss of sea ice. By the end of century percentage could hit 97 percent.
An increasing epidemic of melting Arctic sea ice has potentially threatened wiping out the polar bear habitat, the Interior Department said Wednesday, May 14.
The department accepted the recommendation made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for listing the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, placing the animal as the first species ever endangered due to causes directly linked to global warming.
In making the announcement, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne said, "I am also announcing that this listing decision will be accompanied by administrative guidance and a rule that defines the scope of impact my decision will have, in order to protect the polar bear while limiting the unintended harm to the society and economy of the United States."
"While the legal standards under the ESA compel me to list the polar bear as threatened, I want to make clear that this listing will not stop global climate change or prevent any sea ice from melting. Any real solution requires action by all major economies for it to be effective. That is why I am taking administrative and regulatory action to make certain the ESA isn't abused to make global warming policies," he said.
In January 2007, the Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the polar bear as threatened throughout its range based on receding sea ice.
The proposed ESA special 4(d) rule is available at http://www.doi.gov/issues/polar_bears.html for a 60 day public comment period.
Kempthorne illustrated the listing decision with charts depicting satellite images of the differences in sea ice from the fall of 1979 to the fall of 2007.
Last year, Arctic sea ice fell to the lowest level ever recorded by satellite, 39 percent below the long-term average from 1979 to 2000. The amount of sea ice loss in years 2002-2007 exceeded all previous record lows.
Four of the 10 models project declines in September sea ice in excess of 80 percent by the mid -21st century. Seven of the 10 models show a 97 percent loss in September sea ice by the end of the 21st century.
Based on actual observations of trends in sea ice over the past three decades, these models may actually understate the extent and change rate of projected sea ice loss.
Kempthorne acknowledged Canada has not listed polar bears as threatened even though they have two-thirds of the world's population of the species. "Last week, I went to Canada and explored this issue. The Canadian law is different from U.S. law with respect to endangered species, both in its criteria for listing and administrative process for making listing determinations."
While in Canada, Kempthorne signed a Memorandum of Understanding with his Canadian counterpart, John Baird, the minister of environment, for the conservation and management of polar bear populations shared by the U.S. and Canada.
However, the U.S. department will additionally, monitor polar bear populations and trends, study polar bear feeding ecology, work cooperatively with the Alaska Nanuuq Commission and the North Slope Borough for co-management of the polar bears in Alaska, and provide technical assistance to the participants of the 1988 North Slope Borough Inuvialuit Game Council Agreement for the conservation of polar bears in the Southern Beaufort Sea region and monitor the effects of oil and gas operations in the Beaufort Sea region.