Remove Polar Bear From ESA Neg MH
Content
Remove Polar Bear From ESA(Neg) Matthew Hamilton, Eveready __________________________________________________________________________________________ _
Remove Polar Bear From ESA(Neg)
Table of Contents 1. Inherency................................................................................................................................................1 1.1 U.S. in Treaty...................................................................................................................................1 1.2 Not Protection From Warming........................................................................................................1 1.3 Only One Subpopulation Currently Increasing...............................................................................2 1.4 Listing Decision Was Supported in Various Areas..........................................................................2 1.5 Hasn't Hurt Development................................................................................................................2 1.6 FWS Will Work With Companies...................................................................................................2 1.7 Development and Protection of Species Coexist in Alaska............................................................3 2. Arctic Sea Ice.........................................................................................................................................3 2.1 Leads to Cannibalism......................................................................................................................3 2.2 Threatens Habitat.............................................................................................................................3 2.3 Greatest Threat................................................................................................................................4 2.4 Possible Polar Bear Extinction by 2100..........................................................................................4
1. Inherency
1.1 U.S. in Treaty Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center, “Environmental Treaties and Resource Indicators (ENTRI) -- Full Text”, This data access service is provided by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), which operates the Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) for the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), November 15, 1973, http://sedac.ciesin.org/entri/texts/polar.bears.1973.html {Brackets added] Article II Each Contracting Party[United States included] shall take appropriate action to protect the ecosystems of which polar bears are a part, with special attention to habitat components such as denning and feeding sites and migration patterns, and shall manage polar bear populations in accordance with sound conservation practices based on the best available scientific data. 1.2 Not Protection From Warming msnbc.com staff and news service reports “Obama sticks with Bush-era polar bear rule”, msnbc, updated May 8, 2009, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30635672/#storyContinued WASHINGTON - The Obama administration will retain a Bush-era rule for polar bears, Interior 1 of 4
Remove Polar Bear From ESA(Neg) Matthew Hamilton, Eveready __________________________________________________________________________________________ _
Secretary Ken Salazar announced Friday, in a move that angered activists who noted the rule limits what can be done to protect the species from global warming. Impact: Not protected enough. 1.3 Only One Subpopulation Currently Increasing Geoffrey L. Haskett[the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Alaska Regional Director], “Polar bear listing no threat to development”, Anchorage Daily News(Alaska's newspaper), December 25, 2009, http://www.adn.com/opinion/compass/story/1069771.html To say that polar bears are "thriving" today, however, is misleading. The most recent meeting of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Polar Bear Specialist Group reported that, among those subpopulations of polar bears for which there is adequate data to identify a trend, only one is currently increasing, while eight are declining and three are stable. (In Canada's Western Hudson Bay, for example, population declines have been directly linked to loss of ice habitat due to climate change.) 1.4 Listing Decision Was Supported in Various Areas Geoffrey L. Haskett[the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Alaska Regional Director], “Polar bear listing no threat to development”, Anchorage Daily News(Alaska's newspaper), December 25, 2009, http://www.adn.com/opinion/compass/story/1069771.html That said, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to list the polar bear as threatened was based on the best available science. It was subjected to extensive oversight through the peer review process and was supported by polar bear species and climate change experts from nations across the range of the bear. 1.5 Hasn't Hurt Development Geoffrey L. Haskett[the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Alaska Regional Director], “Polar bear listing no threat to development”, Anchorage Daily News(Alaska's newspaper), December 25, 2009, http://www.adn.com/opinion/compass/story/1069771.html Many people fear that Endangered Species Act listings will curtail development in Alaska, but there is no evidence that this ever has been or will be the case. Keep in mind that there have been federally listed species (and some with designated critical habitat) in Alaska for years -- from bowhead whales to spectacled and Steller's eiders -- and yet oil and gas exploration and other developmental activities have continued and expanded. 1.6 FWS Will Work With Companies Geoffrey L. Haskett[the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Alaska Regional Director], “Polar bear listing 2 of 4
Remove Polar Bear From ESA(Neg) Matthew Hamilton, Eveready __________________________________________________________________________________________ _
no threat to development”, Anchorage Daily News(Alaska's newspaper), December 25, 2009, http://www.adn.com/opinion/compass/story/1069771.html The Alaska Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has an excellent record of working with developers in our state to enable progress while protecting the species under our trust. The oil and gas industry has, in particular, proven to be a valuable, concerned and conscientious partner in conservation. 1.7 Development and Protection of Species Coexist in Alaska Geoffrey L. Haskett[the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Alaska Regional Director], “Polar bear listing no threat to development”, Anchorage Daily News(Alaska's newspaper), December 25, 2009, http://www.adn.com/opinion/compass/story/1069771.html In the case of the polar bear, for example, we've worked with industry through the incidental (unintentional) take program to minimize bear-human interactions while allowing development to continue. As part of this program, we require monitoring information that has increased our understanding of polar bear behavior and biology. We've also worked with industry to develop more accurate means of locating denning polar bears and guidelines to avoid disturbance of denning females. The simple fact is that development and the protection of threatened and endangered species can and do coexist in Alaska, precisely because of these cooperative efforts and in concert with the careful and prudent application of the Endangered Species Act.
2. Arctic Sea Ice
2.1 Leads to Cannibalism Marsha Walton, “Polar bears resort to cannibalism as Arctic ice shrinks”, CNN.com/technology, December 5, 2008, http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/09/23/arctic.ice/index.html The best known consequence of disappearing sea ice in the Arctic is the loss of the polar bear habitat. "The Arctic sea ice melt is a disaster for the polar bears," according to Kassie Siegel, staff attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity. "They are dependent on the Arctic sea ice for all of their essential behaviors, and as the ice melts and global warming transforms the Arctic, polar bears are starving, drowning, even resorting to cannibalism because they don't have access to their usual food sources." Scientists have noticed increasing reports of starving Arctic polar bears attacking and feeding on one another in recent years. In one documented 2004 incident in northern Alaska, a male bear broke into a female's den and killed her.
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Remove Polar Bear From ESA(Neg) Matthew Hamilton, Eveready __________________________________________________________________________________________ _
2.2 Threatens Habitat Marsha Walton, “Polar bears resort to cannibalism as Arctic ice shrinks”, CNN.com/technology, December 5, 2008, http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/09/23/arctic.ice/index.html In May, the U.S. Department of Interior listed the polar bear as a "threatened" species under the Endangered Species Act. In a news release, U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne stated, "loss of sea ice threatens and will likely continue to threaten polar bear habitat. This loss of habitat puts polar bears at risk of becoming endangered in the foreseeable future, the standard established by the ESA for designating a threatened species." 2.3 Greatest Threat msnbc.com staff and news service reports “Obama sticks with Bush-era polar bear rule”, msnbc, updated May 8, 2009, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30635672/#storyContinued "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. 2.4 Possible Polar Bear Extinction by 2100 msnbc.com staff and news service reports, “Study: Arctic warming threatens people, wildlife”, msnbc, November 8, 2004, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6433717/ SLO, Norway - Global warming is heating the Arctic almost twice as fast as the rest of the planet in a thaw that threatens the livelihoods of millions of people and could wipe out polar bears by 2100, according to an eight-nation report released on Monday. The report, the work of more than 250 scientists and the biggest survey to date of the Arctic climate, found that the accelerating melt could point to wider disruptions from a build-up of human emissions of heat-trapping gases in the earth’s atmosphere.
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Remove Polar Bear From ESA(Neg)
Table of Contents 1. Inherency................................................................................................................................................1 1.1 U.S. in Treaty...................................................................................................................................1 1.2 Not Protection From Warming........................................................................................................1 1.3 Only One Subpopulation Currently Increasing...............................................................................2 1.4 Listing Decision Was Supported in Various Areas..........................................................................2 1.5 Hasn't Hurt Development................................................................................................................2 1.6 FWS Will Work With Companies...................................................................................................2 1.7 Development and Protection of Species Coexist in Alaska............................................................3 2. Arctic Sea Ice.........................................................................................................................................3 2.1 Leads to Cannibalism......................................................................................................................3 2.2 Threatens Habitat.............................................................................................................................3 2.3 Greatest Threat................................................................................................................................4 2.4 Possible Polar Bear Extinction by 2100..........................................................................................4
1. Inherency
1.1 U.S. in Treaty Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center, “Environmental Treaties and Resource Indicators (ENTRI) -- Full Text”, This data access service is provided by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), which operates the Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) for the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), November 15, 1973, http://sedac.ciesin.org/entri/texts/polar.bears.1973.html {Brackets added] Article II Each Contracting Party[United States included] shall take appropriate action to protect the ecosystems of which polar bears are a part, with special attention to habitat components such as denning and feeding sites and migration patterns, and shall manage polar bear populations in accordance with sound conservation practices based on the best available scientific data. 1.2 Not Protection From Warming msnbc.com staff and news service reports “Obama sticks with Bush-era polar bear rule”, msnbc, updated May 8, 2009, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30635672/#storyContinued WASHINGTON - The Obama administration will retain a Bush-era rule for polar bears, Interior 1 of 4
Remove Polar Bear From ESA(Neg) Matthew Hamilton, Eveready __________________________________________________________________________________________ _
Secretary Ken Salazar announced Friday, in a move that angered activists who noted the rule limits what can be done to protect the species from global warming. Impact: Not protected enough. 1.3 Only One Subpopulation Currently Increasing Geoffrey L. Haskett[the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Alaska Regional Director], “Polar bear listing no threat to development”, Anchorage Daily News(Alaska's newspaper), December 25, 2009, http://www.adn.com/opinion/compass/story/1069771.html To say that polar bears are "thriving" today, however, is misleading. The most recent meeting of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Polar Bear Specialist Group reported that, among those subpopulations of polar bears for which there is adequate data to identify a trend, only one is currently increasing, while eight are declining and three are stable. (In Canada's Western Hudson Bay, for example, population declines have been directly linked to loss of ice habitat due to climate change.) 1.4 Listing Decision Was Supported in Various Areas Geoffrey L. Haskett[the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Alaska Regional Director], “Polar bear listing no threat to development”, Anchorage Daily News(Alaska's newspaper), December 25, 2009, http://www.adn.com/opinion/compass/story/1069771.html That said, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to list the polar bear as threatened was based on the best available science. It was subjected to extensive oversight through the peer review process and was supported by polar bear species and climate change experts from nations across the range of the bear. 1.5 Hasn't Hurt Development Geoffrey L. Haskett[the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Alaska Regional Director], “Polar bear listing no threat to development”, Anchorage Daily News(Alaska's newspaper), December 25, 2009, http://www.adn.com/opinion/compass/story/1069771.html Many people fear that Endangered Species Act listings will curtail development in Alaska, but there is no evidence that this ever has been or will be the case. Keep in mind that there have been federally listed species (and some with designated critical habitat) in Alaska for years -- from bowhead whales to spectacled and Steller's eiders -- and yet oil and gas exploration and other developmental activities have continued and expanded. 1.6 FWS Will Work With Companies Geoffrey L. Haskett[the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Alaska Regional Director], “Polar bear listing 2 of 4
Remove Polar Bear From ESA(Neg) Matthew Hamilton, Eveready __________________________________________________________________________________________ _
no threat to development”, Anchorage Daily News(Alaska's newspaper), December 25, 2009, http://www.adn.com/opinion/compass/story/1069771.html The Alaska Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has an excellent record of working with developers in our state to enable progress while protecting the species under our trust. The oil and gas industry has, in particular, proven to be a valuable, concerned and conscientious partner in conservation. 1.7 Development and Protection of Species Coexist in Alaska Geoffrey L. Haskett[the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Alaska Regional Director], “Polar bear listing no threat to development”, Anchorage Daily News(Alaska's newspaper), December 25, 2009, http://www.adn.com/opinion/compass/story/1069771.html In the case of the polar bear, for example, we've worked with industry through the incidental (unintentional) take program to minimize bear-human interactions while allowing development to continue. As part of this program, we require monitoring information that has increased our understanding of polar bear behavior and biology. We've also worked with industry to develop more accurate means of locating denning polar bears and guidelines to avoid disturbance of denning females. The simple fact is that development and the protection of threatened and endangered species can and do coexist in Alaska, precisely because of these cooperative efforts and in concert with the careful and prudent application of the Endangered Species Act.
2. Arctic Sea Ice
2.1 Leads to Cannibalism Marsha Walton, “Polar bears resort to cannibalism as Arctic ice shrinks”, CNN.com/technology, December 5, 2008, http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/09/23/arctic.ice/index.html The best known consequence of disappearing sea ice in the Arctic is the loss of the polar bear habitat. "The Arctic sea ice melt is a disaster for the polar bears," according to Kassie Siegel, staff attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity. "They are dependent on the Arctic sea ice for all of their essential behaviors, and as the ice melts and global warming transforms the Arctic, polar bears are starving, drowning, even resorting to cannibalism because they don't have access to their usual food sources." Scientists have noticed increasing reports of starving Arctic polar bears attacking and feeding on one another in recent years. In one documented 2004 incident in northern Alaska, a male bear broke into a female's den and killed her.
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Remove Polar Bear From ESA(Neg) Matthew Hamilton, Eveready __________________________________________________________________________________________ _
2.2 Threatens Habitat Marsha Walton, “Polar bears resort to cannibalism as Arctic ice shrinks”, CNN.com/technology, December 5, 2008, http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/09/23/arctic.ice/index.html In May, the U.S. Department of Interior listed the polar bear as a "threatened" species under the Endangered Species Act. In a news release, U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne stated, "loss of sea ice threatens and will likely continue to threaten polar bear habitat. This loss of habitat puts polar bears at risk of becoming endangered in the foreseeable future, the standard established by the ESA for designating a threatened species." 2.3 Greatest Threat msnbc.com staff and news service reports “Obama sticks with Bush-era polar bear rule”, msnbc, updated May 8, 2009, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30635672/#storyContinued "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. 2.4 Possible Polar Bear Extinction by 2100 msnbc.com staff and news service reports, “Study: Arctic warming threatens people, wildlife”, msnbc, November 8, 2004, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6433717/ SLO, Norway - Global warming is heating the Arctic almost twice as fast as the rest of the planet in a thaw that threatens the livelihoods of millions of people and could wipe out polar bears by 2100, according to an eight-nation report released on Monday. The report, the work of more than 250 scientists and the biggest survey to date of the Arctic climate, found that the accelerating melt could point to wider disruptions from a build-up of human emissions of heat-trapping gases in the earth’s atmosphere.
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