Decide on polar bears first, then oil: lawmaker (Markey) - Reuters

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Decide on polar bears first, then oil: lawmaker
Thu Jan 17, 2008 4:16pm EST

By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government must decide
first if polar bears are threatened by climate change before it
opens part of their icy habitat to oil drilling, the head of a
congressional environment panel said on Thursday.

The decision whether to list the big Arctic bear as threatened
under the Endangered Species Act was supposed to happen
last week but was postponed for up to 30 days.

That means it could come after the government offers 29.4
million acres in the Chukchi Sea off the Alaskan coast in a
sale of oil leases on February 6.

"Rushing to allow drilling in polar bear habitat before protecting
the bear would be the epitome of this administration's backward
energy policy, a policy of drill first and ask questions later,"
Rep. Ed Markey said at a hearing of the House (of
Representatives) Select Committee on Energy Independence
and Global Warming, which he chairs.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN1723918820080117