Take Me To Post Comment Form Last week, the Bush administration listed the polar bear as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.

It was a historic decision. The polar bear is one of the world's most beloved and iconic mammals, and this was the first time that an animal had been added to the endangered list as a direct result of global warming.

But the administration had to be dragged into the decision kicking and screaming. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service had begun taking comments on the proposal back in January 2007. There was strong public and scientific support for adding polar bears to the list. But more than a year passed, and the feds took no action. Finally some environmental groups sued the government to stop procrastinating, and a judge ordered the Department of the Interior to make a decision.

On May 14, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced that the bear would indeed be added to the list. But he immediately followed that statement by saying that the government will make no policy changes as a result of this action.

This means putting the polar bear on the list is a hollow gesture. The whole point of the Endangered Species Act is that once a plant or animal is listed, steps must be taken to prevent that species from becoming extinct. Polar bears are dying because the northern sea ice is melting, making it difficult for them to hunt for food. To correct this, we would need to stop whatever is causing the polar regions to warm so rapidly. The majority of scientists believe the warming is related to manmade greenhouse gases. But Kempthorne made it clear that the U.S. government does not plan to do anything to curb greenhouse emissions.

So why even bother to put the polar bear on the ESA list, if doing so offers no protection? That's like a school publishing a list of all the students who are struggling academically, and then not offering any tutoring to help those students do better.

Oh, and by the way, this isn't just about polar bears, or about climate change. The Bush administration has been reluctant to protect ANY endangered species, for any reason. Last week was the first time in three years that an animal had been added to the list, even though there are dozens, if not hundreds, of species that biologists believe should be given extra protection.

In case it wasn't obvious before, Kempthorne's announcement made it clearer than ever that this administration doesn't care about biodiversity, it doesn't care about the environment, and most of all, it doesn't care what the majority of Americans think.