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Inaction on Polar Bear Is Criticized
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Apr 02, 2008 10:57pm |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - Washington Post |
| News Date | Friday, April 4, 2008 04:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Senate Democrats Blame Interior for Delay in Addressing Climate Change
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 3, 2008; Page A04
Senate Democrats yesterday deplored the Bush administration's failure to meet a legal deadline for determining whether global warming is pushing polar bears toward extinction and lashed their scheduled star witness -- Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne -- for declining to appear in his own defense.
Kempthorne announced 15 months ago that his department would determine within a year whether the bear should be added to the endangered species list because rapidly disappearing sea ice threatens its ability to hunt and survive, but he has yet to issue a decision. A coalition of environmental groups has sued the Interior Department for missing the one-year deadline to act.
"The Bush administration is violating the law, and that is why we're here today," said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, opening the hearing. "These species do not have an indefinite time to be saved. . . . Time is running out for the polar bear, and time has run out for this decision."
Kempthorne wrote Boxer on Tuesday night to say he would "respectfully decline" the panel's invitation because he had yet to make a final determination on the polar bears' status and is the named plaintiff in the pending suit. |
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