You'd think, given the popularity of polar bears as an icon of the dangers of global warming, that Republicans wouldn't want to be on record saying, in effect, oil matters and bears don't.But in a Republican vs. Republican suit, the state of Alaska has sued Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne over the recent decision to protect polar bears under the Endangered Species Act.
Gov. Sarah Palin, who’s being touted as a possible veep candidate for John McCain, and other Alaska officials contend the listing will cripple offshore oil and gas development. They say Interior didn’t take into account that polar bears had survived previous warming periods.
The lead author of the petition that led to the listing – Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity, said Alaska’s “head-in-the sand approach to global warming only helps oil companies, certainly not Alaska or the polar bear.”
The SOLE reason the animal rights loonies fought to get the polar bears on the list was to prevent oil exploration and drilling. There has been a recent population explosion among the bears. The reason the activists gave was that scientists *think* it's going to get warmer. Yet it has been getting cooler the past few years. Whaddya know.
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