No More Polar Bears?

The Bush administration has decided to propose listing the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, putting the U.S. government on record as saying that global warming could drive one of the world's most recognizable animals out of existence.

U.S. Wants Polar Bears Listed as Threatened - washingtonpost.com

With the growing talk about polar bears becoming endangered, it got me thinking. I wondered if the cute polar bears at the zoo would no longer exist. If my children and grandchildren would ever see the spectacular wonders of polar bears at their trip to the zoo. Since the 'global climate change' the polar bears cannot hunt  in the icey sea. Now  some are questioning wether the government should get involved by making companies regulate their carbon dioxide output in the industry plants.

Northern latitudes are warming twice as rapidly as the rest of the globe, according to a 2004 scientific assessment, and by the end of the century annual ocean temperatures in the Arctic may rise an additional 13 degrees Fahrenheit. As a result, researchers predict that summer sea ice, which polar bears use as a platform to hunt for ringed seals, will decline 50 to 100 percent. Just this month, researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research outlined a worst-case scenario in which summer sea ice could disappear by 2040.

U.S. Wants Polar Bears Listed as Threatened - washingtonpost.com

Climate scientists predict that floating polar ice will disappear by midcentury, leaving the bear without food and habitat. Two-thirds of the population could disappear by 2050, scientists say.

Groups cite oil leases in U.S. delay on rating polar bear's status

Some predict 2040 some 2050.