|
 ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A marked decline in sea ice off Alaska's coast is not enough to take the drastic step of listing polar bears — a species dependent on ice — as threatened, critics said Thursday at the first of three public hearings on the proposal.
Restrictions that could kick in with a listing under the Endangered Species Act due to global warming would be too burdensome, given the unknowns about the future of polar bears, such as the extent of the loss of Arctic sea ice in the next 100 years and whether the animals would face extinction, according to opponents.
"The listing likely will force anyone in America whose business requires the emission of greenhouse gases to go through an additional layer of consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service, creating delays and expenses," said Marilyn Crockett, deputy director of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, a trade group.
|