Pirate's Cove

To start off (CNS News)

“Although the population of bears has grown from a low of about 12,000 in the late 1960s to approximately 25,000 today, our scientists advise me that computer modeling projects a significant population decline by the year 2050,” Kempthorne said. “This, in my judgment, makes the polar bear a threatened species–one likely to become in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future.”

So, they have increased as we went from a cooler period to a warming period? How does that jibe with

Kempthorne noted that Arctic sea ice has been declining in recent years, even as the bear population has been growing. He said the government believes that the polar bear population is dependent on Arctic sea ice as its habitat, and that if government projections about future declines in the sea ice prove true, the bear population could die off.

Because we all know that computer models are super! Watch your ten day forcast, and see how the computer models change from day to day. Works as well as most of the other computer models out there.

But, Kempthorne does his best to flip off the climahysterics (Washington Times)

“While the legal standards under the ESA compel me to list the polar bear as threatened, I want to make clear that this listing will not stop global climate change or prevent any sea ice from melting,” Mr. Kempthorne said.

“Any real solution requires action by all major economies for it to be effective. That is why I am taking administrative and regulatory action to make certain the ESA isn”t abused to make global warming policies,” Mr. Kempthorne said.

The administration will introduce a rule to limit unintended harm to the economy by the listing, such as caps on greenhouse gas emissions in the lower 48 states that could limit building highways and power plants, or limitations on oil and gas drilling.

Of course, the climahysterics were not amused. Check the NY Times Dot Earth blog for some good seething.

“This decision is a watershed event because it has forced the Bush administration to acknowledge global warming’s brutal impacts,” said Kassie Siegel, climate program director for the Center for Biological Diversity, which led the listing effort.

The brutal impact that has led to a doubling of polar bears during a warming period.

Personally, I do not see a big deal with listing them, as long as it is not used for silly climahysteria.

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