Ted Stevens Debunks Polar Bear Fears

Here.

Excerpts:

“None of the almost 1,900 previously listed species were occupying their entire geographic range at the time of listing, yet the polar bear is readily found throughout the Arctic,” Stevens said in testimony submitted to EPW. “None of the previously listed species had rising populations at the time of listing, yet the global population of polar bears has been steadily increasing for 40 years. 2 This proposed listing is unique because it is based on mathematical models as opposed to biological observations,” Stevens explained. […] Perhaps the most ironic aspect of the proposed listing is the potential for it to undermine the ESA - our nation’s most celebrated tool for species conservation. Models of climate change predict that global biodiversity may decline by 35 percent by 2050.7 Does this mean that we should list, in addition to the polar bear, the multitude of species that are currently abundant but may decline as a result of a changing climate? This is an unwarranted expansion in the interpretation of the ESA which could open the door for potential abuse of this law, to the detriment of species that would be affected by a weakened ESA and deviates from my original intent when I voted for this Act. [..] But with the listing of the polar bear as threatened, the ESA would be used as a tool to curtail or eliminate the use of fossil fuels – not a goal of the ESA.