Polar Bears: Not about oil

The Bush administration should immediately designate polar bears for aggressive Endangered Species Act protection. There has been far too much delay on the obvious threats from climate change.

A federal judge has set a deadline Thursday for the administration to decide whether to act on its own studies and list the bears for protection. We know this White House has problems facing scientific and legal realities, but the disappearance of huge stretches of polar ice make this call easy.

The administration's energy industry supporters won't take an honest White House decision lying down, especially if the administration addresses both the immediate Arctic threats and the larger issue of greenhouse gas emissions. Mother Jones last week published a report on how the industry would use a full-blown lobbying, media and legal campaign to argue that limits on drilling and greater emissions controls hurt the poor and minorities. Roy Innis of the Congress on Racial Equality, which reportedly receives Exxon money, has promised to fight polar bear protections.

The effects of higher gas prices, which have almost nothing to do with environmental policies, are hitting everyone. But the world isn't going to drill its way out of energy decisions. Pretending otherwise will only worsen the eventual damage to the environment and vulnerable species, which ultimately include humans.