Strengthen America's Puny Polar Bear Recovery Plan

Times are tough for America's imperiled polar bears, and they will only get harder as climate change accelerates. But a new recovery plan for these beloved bears falls well short of what's needed to save them from extinction in the wild.

The proposal recognizes the main threats to polar bears — climate change and habitat loss — but fails to detail meaningful action to address those threats.

With federal approval, Shell's drilling operations are even now bumbling toward the pristine Arctic waters polar bears need to survive. The recovery plan would do nothing to address the oil giant's embarrassing safety record in the region or its faulty drilling plan, which federal scientists admit has a 75 percent chance of creating one or more major oil spills in the waters where polar bears hunt.

Meanwhile, US oil and gas production is booming, fueling the climate change that is robbing polar bears of the habitat and sustenance they need to survive. Even worse, new studies show that polar bears may be even less adaptable to climate change than previously thought.

Polar bears could be extinct by the end of the century — unless we can convince federal officials to dramatically strengthen the polar bear recovery plan. Comments are due on the plan by August 20, 2015, so please sign this petition now and call for additional life-saving protections for polar bears.

Chief Colligan,

As someone who cares about safeguarding the future of America's polar bears, I believe that the Fish and Wildlife Service's polar bear recovery plan should be dramatically strengthened with specific measures to reduce climate change and protect polar bear habitat.

Specifically, I call on your department to revoke approval for Shell's exploratory drilling in the Arctic waters that polar bears need to survive and to work with the White House and other federal agencies to dramatically reduce the carbon emissions that are driving polar bears to extinction.

[Your comments]

Sincerely,

[Your name]
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