This Wednesday the U.S. Dept. of the Interior took the advice of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and placed the Polar Bear on the Threatened Species List.  The reason this has been done is due to the declining sea ice in the artic.  Sea ice has been declining for some time and it has been blamed on Global Warming.  With this listing the Dept. of the Interior said they are not going to let the Endangered and Threatened Species Act become a tool for the Global Warming theorists to use when they want.  They are going to still allow for oil and gas exploration and production in the region even though the Polar Bear has now been listed. 

     I heard a story on this issue today on CNN, and heard something interesting.  Even though the bears have now been listed, other countries don’t have to abide by this ruling.  This is only for the people of the United States.  This act will not stop other countries from harvesting these bears or stop them from any Artic exploration, even if it violates the act. 

     Now mind you, Polar Bear numbers are not dwindling, they are stable.  The only reason these bears are now listed is that the sea ice is dwindling.  This is part of their habitat, and with it being reduced the bears are being forced to relocate further south.  What I would like to know is when these bears move far enough south, and start interacting more with humans, will we still have a hands off policy?  It seems to me as if the Global Warming Theorists are using this as a tool to get their point across, not to mention the anti hunters will also jump on this bandwagon!