"Judge Skeptical About Remanding Polar Bear Case to Obama Admin"

"A federal judge [Wednesday] appeared reluctant to ask the Obama administration to reconsider whether the polar bear should be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. ...

Hanging over the matter is the issue of global warming and its potential impact on the polar bear's habitat. Environmentalists argue that greenhouse gases are to blame and that the ESA could be used to regulate emissions, an approach the Obama administration opposes.

At the latest hearing in the case today, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan of the District of Columbia asked probing questions of Kassie Siegel, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, who argued for the case to be remanded back to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service."


Lawrence Hurley reports for Greenwire February 23, 2011.

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"How Can Polar Bears Be Saved, Court Asks?" (McClatchy)