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Select Committee to Examine Polar Bear Listing and Oil Lease Decisions from Bush Administration

Will Interior Department Allow Oil Futures to Determine Real Future for the Polar Bear?

Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming today announced a hearing on the future of the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the recent decision by the Interior Department to open up polar bear habitats in Alaska to new oil drilling. The Interior Department’s Fish and Wildlife Service is set to release its decision soon on whether to list the polar bear as threatened under ESA, the bedrock law that protects species in peril.
In the most thorough study to date, the Interior Department recently determined that under current trends, disappearing sea ice would result by 2050 in a two-thirds drop in the world population of polar bears.

WHAT: “On Thin Ice: The Future of the Polar Bear”, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming hearing

WHERE: U.S. Capitol Complex, room TBD

WHEN: Thursday, January 17, 2008 -9:30 AM

WHO: Witnesses to be announced soon

The House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming was formed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to increase the visibility and priority given to America's oil dependence and global warming challenges. It is chaired by Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and will actively explore the solutions, science and progress on these pressing issues during the 110th Congress.

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