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Article: Polar Bears Adrift: policy decisions put them on thin ice.
- Article from:
- Current
- Article date:
- March 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Heldref Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Polar bears have long inspired awe, fear--and cuddly picture books for kids. Perhaps that is why, more than anything, these snow-colored giants of the Arctic have become symbols of the environmental train wreck that looks likely at the top of the globe.
For all this public affection for polar bears, however, the warm emotions pale next to the tough political and scientific judgments now being made about their future. Already this year, the U.S. government has plunged into these icy waters on two fronts: opening Alaskan bear sanctuaries to oil drilling, and deciding whether they are indeed a "threatened" species, which is one small step away from the direst label, ...