The state of Alaska has filed a lawsuit in federal district court (District of Columbia) challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act due to global warming. The Act was hailed as a breakthrough political gesture that officially acknowledged global warming as a threat to life.
Alaska’s Governor Sarah Palin claims that the act to protect the bears will affect offshore oil and gas operations off the northern coast of the state.
“The State of Alaska’s challenge to the protection of the polar bear is a lost cause based on discredited, industry-funded attacks on science. This case has no merit, and the Center for Biological Diversity, NRDC, and Greenpeace will be seeking to intervene in the lawsuit and have it dismissed”, said Kassie Siegel, climate program director at the Center for Biological Diversity, and lead author of the 2005 petition to list the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act.
“The state of Alaska’s response is disappointing, but certainly no surprise. They have taken their cues from industry every step of the way”, added Andrew Wetzler, director of NRDC Endangered Species Project.
