Office of the Independent Blogger

Working in a bureaucracy is hell. Imagine doing this for a living.

The United States delayed a decision on whether global warming threatens polar bears, saying on Monday new data and public comment required more time. Environmentalists vowed to sue for quicker action. The deadline for deciding whether to list the big white bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act is Wednesday but Dale Hall, head of the Fish and Wildlife Service, told reporters it would take as much as a month more to analyze all the information.

This is the first time global warming has been a factor in proposing threatened status for any U.S. species, Hall said, and that has added to the complexity of the decision.

Polar bears depend on sea ice as a platform for hunting seals, and without it, the bears could be forced onto land, where they are inefficient hunters. As sea ice melts, the bears are forced to swim long distances and footage of polar bears drowning has fueled the debate over their fate.

I just wonder what higher forces insisted that they hold off on declaring the obvious.

Edit: As if that story weren’t enough to make you shake your head, how’s this one: FBI wiretaps cut off because FBI doesn’t pay phone bills on time.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 10th, 2008 at 8:40 pm and is filed under Outside Retort (Current Affairs).