A Polar Catch-22

When it comes to the polar bear, it's darned if you do and darned if you don't for the Bush White House. Back in March, a group of environmental activism organizations, led by Greenpeace and the NRDC, sued the Bush administration for failing to act regarding the situation of the polar bear. They pushed for the bear to be listed as an endangered species, and demanded a decision from the White House.

In response to this continued pressure, the polar bear was officially listed as an endangered species in May. They received the full protection of the Endangered Species Act except for one legal detail. The Bush administration declared that carbon emissions could not be considered a "threat" to the species.

This week the White House learned that you can't please everyone (probably not the first time they have learned this). On Monday, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin announced that her state is suing the White House to overturn their decision on the polar bear. Alaskans feel that this legislation unfairly hinders their ability to pursue oil exploration and drilling. The lawsuit also asserts that the US Fish and Wildlife Service inadequately assessed the polar bear's current population size and future outlook. 

No political decision is without its opponents, and it seems that the White House will not be able to please everyone with this hot issue. In the coming weeks and months, we will see if they stand by their decision to protect the polar bear, or if they will reverse their decision to promote domestic drilling.