Posted by
Always To The Right on Thursday, January 31, 2008 10:33:59 PM
U.S.
Senate Report Debunks Polar Bear Extinction Fears - The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is
considering listing the polar bear a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. This report details
the scientists debunking polar bear endangerment fears and features a sampling of the latest peer-reviewed
science detailing the natural causes of recent Arctic ice changes.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service estimates that the polar bear population is currently at 20,000 to 25,000
bears, up from as low as 5,000-10,000 bears in the 1950s and 1960s. A 2002 U.S. Geological Survey of
wildlife in the Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain noted that the polar bear populations “may now be near historic
highs.” The alarm about the future of polar bear decline is based on speculative computer model
predictions many decades in the future. And the methodology of these computer models is being challenged by
many scientists and forecasting experts. (U.S.
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee)