Oil v. Polar Bears...

[pyan]

Protecting polar bears gets in way of drilling for oil, says governor

The polar bear should be removed from the endangered species list because its protected status will hamper drilling for oil and gas in Alaska, the state's Republican Governor has demanded.

Protecting polar bears gets in way of drilling for oil, says governor - Times Online


Woo! I can see this one ruffling a few feathers with the environmentalists...

[Ursa major]

I don't recall seeing utility in the definition of endangerment (even a gas utility ).


This caught my eye: "...claiming that climate models predicting the continued loss of sea ice - the main habitat of polar bears - are unreliable." (My italics)

So it is accepted that the habitat is currently under pressure, then?







Is this Palin taking the Michael, by any chance? () Thought not. ()

[The Ace]

Sod them, it's the polar bears' territory, so it's hard cheese on the oil industry.

They'll only use it as an excuse to gouge us further anyway.

[Ursa major]

Down here in Wessex we have oil exploration (admittedly not on the scale envisaged in Alaska). The oil is extracted from areas that are seen as tourist attractions. The two, very different, industries manage to get on. It does, of course, cost money, but with the price of oil being over $130 a barrel, I'm sure the oil companies can still make a fortune, even if they have to be sensitive to the environment.

[Harpo]

I say we put the Governor in the ring with a polar bear and see who wins

[Parson]

In fairness to the governor it should be noted that the polar bears are not an endangered species under the normal rules which seem to be only related to the actual number of endangered animals of that species there are in the wild. The Bush administration in a surprising alignment with environmental groups has made the declaration on speculation. Good scientific speculation, but still speculation.

Note that if you went by what happened in the winter of 2007-08 we might be worrying about the next ice age. The refreezing of the polar regions was nothing short of remarkable.

All in all, the governor is foolish and has left her political undies on the line for everyone to see.

[Overread]

true - but if the bear is dead before the ice refreezes then its rather a lost argument ( and science can work out when/if the next ice age will start )

[Ursa major]

And speaking of the Arctic, here's something to cheer us all up, I don't think:

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Vast cracks appear in Arctic ice

[Overread]

As my lecturers say to us - you will live through interesting times - got a boat or land on everest?