The polar bear was listed as an endangered species a year ago because of global warming.
But Bush's "special rule" says the Endangered Species Act can't regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
Salazar agrees that global warming can't be regulated through the Endangered Species Act.
BUT he says that the Obama administration will address global climate change through other means, thereby protecting the polar bear and every other species on the planet. The hope is and the reality seems to be that the Obama administration actually believes in climate change and cares about limiting greenhouse gases.
Environmental groups are skeptical and I don't blame them.
"We must do all we can to help the polar bear recover, recognizing that the greatest threat to the polar bear is the melting of Arctic sea ice caused by climate change," Salazar said in a statement. "However, the Endangered Species Act is not the proper mechanism for controlling our nation’s carbon emissions.Environmentalists still plan to protest and I'm thankful we have these groups keeping an eye on the environment:
"Instead, we need a comprehensive energy and climate strategy that curbs climate change and its impacts – including the loss of sea ice," he added. "Both President Obama and I are committed to achieving that goal."
"We need to use every tool at our disposal, including the Endangered Species Act," Andrew Wetzler, wildlife conservation director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement. "The rule endorsed today is illegal, and we will continue to fight it in court."
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. and head of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, also protested the decision not to use the act to require emissions cuts. "Monitoring the situation will not tell us more than we know now – that the polar bear is threatened and we need to act," she said in a statement.
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