What is it about cuddly animals that overrides the rational faculty of policymakers?* What is it about cuddly animals that overrides the rational faculty of policymakers? Consider the polar bear polar bear, large white bear, Ursus maritimus, formerly Thalarctos maritimus, of the coasts of arctic North America. Polar bears usually live on drifting pack ice, but sometimes wander long distances inland. (a ferocious carnivore carnivore (kär`nəvôr'), term commonly applied to any animal whose diet consists wholly or largely of animal matter. In animal systematics it refers to members of the mammalian order Carnivora (see Chordata). , but it certainly looks cuddly). Interior secretary Dirk Kempthorne has recommended that it be listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act The federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) (16 U.S.C.A. §§ 1531 et seq.) was enacted to protect animal and plant species from extinction by preserving the ecosystems in which they survive and by providing programs for their conservation. . The bears' habitat--Arctic ice--"may literally be melting," Kempthorne explains. The government is required to protect the habitat of a species once it is listed as endangered; so if Kempthorne's wish prevails after a yearlong review, we can expect no shortage of lawsuits trying to cap carbon-dioxide emissions in the name of fighting global warming global warming, the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution. . But let's pause and consider what we know. Polar bears have survived past periods of significant Arctic warming; hyperventilation hyperventilation /hy·per·ven·ti·la·tion/ (-ven?ti-la´shun) 1. abnormally increased pulmonary ventilation, resulting in reduction of carbon dioxide tension, which, if prolonged, may lead to alkalosis. 2. over the bears' fate has been prompted mainly by a single study showing a population decline in one region, but we have reason to believe that their worldwide numbers are near historic highs; we have no clue exactly how extensive future ice loss will be; and C[O.sub.2] restrictions along the lines of the Kyoto Protocol will have a negligible effect on climate. The wisdom of Kempthorne's position is not readily apparent. On the other hand, polar bears are so cuddly ... |
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