Urgent: Department of the Interior To Lease 30 Million Acres For Oil Activities

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I just got this email alert from the World Wildlife Federation that the Department of the Interior plans to move ahead with leasing nearly 30 million acres in Alaska's pristine Chukchi Sea for oil and gas activities. Together, the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas support an estimated one-fifth of the world's polar bear population. The polar bear's existence is already threatened by the impact of climate change-induced loss of sea ice. Its chances for survival will be greatly diminished if much of its remaining critical habitat is turned into a vast oil and gas field. The Chukchi Sea lease must be halted until protective measures are in place for the polar bear. For more information about this...Here's more from their website: {Quote} The Department of the Interior plans to move ahead on February 6, 2008, with leasing nearly 30 million acres in Alaska’s pristine Chukchi Sea for oil and gas activities. Together, the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas support an estimated one-fifth of the world’s polar bear population. The secretary has the power both to stop the lease sale and to protect the polar bear, but he is not being consistent in making these decisions. On the one hand, the secretary oversees the Minerals Management Service (MMS), which has issued its final notice of intent for the Chukchi lease sale, and is expected to make its decision to go ahead on February 6. On the other hand, the secretary also oversees the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), which has proposed to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and is expected to reach a final decision in the next few weeks. Once the species is listed, FWS must consult with MMS on impacts of its activities on polar bears, and MMS must ensure that its actions, including lease sale approvals, do not jeopardize the continued existence of the species. What's at Stake The polar bear's existence is already threatened by the impact of climate change-induced loss of sea ice. Its chances for survival will be greatly diminished if much of its remaining critical habitat is turned into a vast oil and gas field. Oil and gas development would put much more than polar bears at risk. The Chukchi Sea is home to walruses, three species of ice seals, beluga whales, gray whales and endangered bowhead whales, and serves as a staging and molting ground for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds. http://wwf.worldwildlife.org/site/PageServer?pagename=can_actions_alertinfo_Chukchi_Sea&AddInterest=1081 So once again our wonderful government is planning to screw up land areas for oil and gas production while not thinking of the impact it would have to the already seriously endangered polar bear population. Here's the petition one can sign: https://secure2.convio.net/wwf/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=211&enews=enews0208se