Why Does President Obama Hate the Polar Bears?

Posted May 8th, 2009 at 4.19pm in Energy and Environment.

Today the Obama administration’s Department of Interior announced that it would keep a Bush administration rule forbidding government scientists from considering global warming when protecting polar bears pursuant to the Endangered Species Act.

When the Bush Interior Department announced their rule, they were roundly criticized by the enviro-left. It will be interesting to see how they react to the Obama administration taking the same position.

More interesting is how the Obama EPA justified their decision. McClatchy reports:

On Friday, the Interior Department reluctantly agreed, saying that it’s scientifically impossible to use the Endangered Species Act to regulate greenhouse gases, which are contributing to the warming of the earth and the resulting melting of bears’ habitat in Alaska. The emissions from a cement plant in Georgia, for example, can’t be tied directly to the precipitous decline in polar ice, Salazar said.

But neither can the emissions from just one car tailpipe be tied directly to global warming. So by that same logic, the EPA has no business regulating carbon emissions pursuant to the Clean Air Act. If it is “scientifically impossible to use the Endangered Species Act to regulate greenhouse gases” than it is also scientifically impossible to use the CAA to regulate greenhouse gasses.

After all, The ESA is a far more powerful law than the CAA, especially if your aim is to shut down carbon emissions. Section 7 of the ESA requires all federal agencies to consult with either the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) or the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) for “any action authorized, funded, or carried out.”

In other words, every action funded by the federal government has the potential to be shut down by the ESA. All that billions of infrastructure funding in Obama’s $787 stimulus bill? It all would increase carbon emissions, so the ESA could kill it all.

No wonder Obama threw the polar bears under the bus.

Author: Conn Carroll
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May 8, 2009 Instapundit » Blog Archive » HOPE AND CHANGE! Gov’t sticks with Bush-era polar bear rule. “The Obama administration on Friday l… writes:

[...] Apparently, I wasn’t alone: Why Does President Obama Hate The Polar Bears? [...]

May 8, 2009 Cool It, NC writes:

“greenhouse gases … can’t be tied directly to the precipitous decline in polar ice, Salazar said.”

Well yes, because there is no precipitous decline in polar ice. The Artic ice coverage has rebounded to the average of the last 30 years, and the Antarctic ice coverage continues to be above average.

http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/images/daily_images/N_timeseries.png
http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/s_plot_daily.html

May 8, 2009 ted logan, NC USA writes:

Since CO2 is a greenhouse gas, recommend everyone who doesn’t think we can adapt to changes in climate hold their breath until dead.
Or get a life, enjoy it, teach your children to be strong and self sufficient, and someday humanity will still die out.
But the article still leaves me wondering. If President Obama can’t save the polar bears, how will he save GM, Chrysler, BOA, everything else?

May 9, 2009 Papertiger writes:

Good point about the ESA hamstringing federal projects. I know it was due to crass political considerations. The last thing that Obama wants to do is cut into Democrat pork and skewer the labor unions who will be getting those perks. But after so much bad news from the Obama admin regarding the climate fraud, this is a cause to celebrate.
And thank you porkers.

How’s this for irony? Obama has adopted Sarah Palin’s position regarding the polar bears.

May 9, 2009 jr., Michigan writes:

polar bears are delicious! serve them with a baked potato and a veg. of your choice. yummy!

May 11, 2009 Lloyd Scallan - New Orleans writes:

The whole “Man Made Global Warming” is nothing but
a lie that the anarchist use to kill capitalizm.
Everyone should keep an eye on the latest socialist bunch, NRDC. This group lies and uses
the bait an switch tactics. They send out lies about saving wolf pups, then use the money to
end perhaps 80,000 jobs in California to possiblely save a 2 inch minnow.
people out of

May 11, 2009 Alan E. Spears writes:

The President hates Polar Bears because they are not part of of his unrepetent terrorist clique. The EPA is another useless bureaucracy who will probably use its Super Fund to transport Polar Bears from the Yukon Territory to Gitmo where they’ll be interned until they memorize the Koran.

May 11, 2009 JAB, Spring Lake, Michigan writes:

It is a wonder to me, why, in this age of verifiable information at our fingertips, that the “scaredy cats” in this society, have not figured it out. The environmental groups, and Algore, etc. delight in their control over, and Big Bucks Earned from, our whole nation, and most of the world, using phony science,and statistics. Wake-up, “It’s the Sun Stupid”. To semi-quote Einstein, “Science is a guessing game.”

May 11, 2009 Moose writes:

To Jr., Michigan:

Jr., make sure your cook them throughly, they are worse then pork for diseases.

May 11, 2009 Obama Must Hate Wolves And Polar Bears : Black Bear Blog writes:

[...] The Heritage Foundation as an article today as well with a bit of a different perspective but asking some similar questions [...]

May 11, 2009 Obama Have To Hate Wolves And Brumal Bears | Bow Hunting writes:

[...] The Estate Foundation as an article today as profoundly with a tittle of a manifold perspective but asking some compare [...]

May 16, 2009 David VanNorman Wind Ridge Pa. writes:

I’de realey like to see some of our Senators and Reps cook in their own juices. They make all these problems and we have to pay them for life with better medical than we can afford.

June 19, 2009 The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room » DAY’S END ROUNDUP writes:

[...] Gitmo? - Ben Armbruster, ThinkProgress What sort of bankers does Washington need? - Ezra Klein Why does Obama hate polar bears? - Conn Carroll, The Foundry Dem calls for executive accountability - John Nichols, The [...]

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