By: E&P Staff As any casual watcher of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central surely knows, host Stephen Colbert has a thing about...bears. He fears and hates them and frequently attacks them on his show (before they can attack him?). He has even called them the greatest threat to America.
The Colbert fans, and many political watchers, will also testify to the "Colbert Bump"-- an uptick in the polls for many politicians who have appeared on the show or received a hearty shout-out.
Well, watch out next week. The faux-rightwing blowhard Colbert character will surely hail the choice of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska today by John McCain, not just because she is a true conservative -- but she has campaigned to get polar bears held off the endangered species list.
Here is an excerpt from her op ed for The New York Times that appeared this past Jan. 5. It was titled, "Bearing Up."
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[P]olar bears are magnificent animals, not cartoon characters. They are worthy of our utmost efforts to protect them and their Arctic habitat. But adding polar bears to the nation?s list of endangered species, as some are now proposing, should not be part of those efforts....
This month, the secretary of the interior is expected to rule on whether polar bears should be listed under the Endangered Species Act. I strongly believe that adding them to the list is the wrong move at this time. My decision is based on a comprehensive review by state wildlife officials of scientific information from a broad range of climate, ice and polar bear experts.
The Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group, has argued that global warming and the reduction of polar ice severely threatens the bears? habitat and their existence. In fact, there is insufficient evidence that polar bears are in danger of becoming extinct within the foreseeable future ? the trigger for protection under the Endangered Species Act. And there is no evidence that polar bears are being mismanaged through existing international agreements and the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act.
The state takes very seriously its job of protecting polar bears and their habitat and is well aware of the problems caused by climate change. But we know our efforts will take more than protecting what we have ? we must also learn what we don?t know. That?s why state biologists are studying the health of polar bear populations and their habitat....
Americans should become involved in the issue of climate change by offering suggestions for constructive action to their state governments. But listing the polar bear as threatened is the wrong way to get to the right answer.
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