IMAGE: The Meltdown in the Arctic threatens polar bears. • December 27, 2006 •
The U.S. government announced its intention to include polar bears on the endangered species list because of the growing shortage of ice in the Arctic.
Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said he was concerned that the habitat of animals was diluted.
is the first time that the U.S. government establishes a link between climate change and the threat to a species.
In a statement, the Ministry of Interior said it was examining why the climate was changing, but stressed that the administration of President George Bush was the problem of climate change very seriously and recognizes the role that greenhouse gases played in this phenomenon.
The Washington Post said the government initiative is the result of legal pressure from environmental groups. THREAT
estimated global population of polar bears comes only twenty-five thousand and may decrease dramatically over the next fifty years.
Describing a species as "threatened" means a lower level to be "endangered." Kempthorne emphasized
turn The oil and gas projects under development in Alaska were not part of the risk.
pressure groups welcomed the initiative.
Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity, said it was "an unprecedented move considering the way this country deals with climate change."
The Polar Bear Specialist Group in Switzerland projecting a 30% disappearance of polar bears in the next 45 years.
The final decision to include polar bears on the endangered species list will be made next year after more research.
Source: BBCMundo.com
Image: BBCMundo.com
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