Three environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government on Monday for missing the deadline to list the Polar bear as a threatened animal under the Endangered Species Act.
The Natural Resources Defense Council, Greenpeace and the Center for Biological Diversity presented their complaint to a court in San Francisco, saying they hoped the move could prompt an early listing of the animal in the Endangered Species Act by the U.S. government.
According to the three groups, the U.S. government was originally supposed to issue a final decision on the polar bear case on Jan. 9, but it requested a delay and this past Sunday was the deadline for a decision.
It is the first time that the U.S. government has ever considered listing a species as threatened due to global warming.
"It's up to a federal court to throw this incredible animal a lifeline," said Andrew Wetzler, project director of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
"We need urgent action from this administration to protect the polar bear and reduce greenhouse gas pollution, not continued delay," he said.
The U.S. Geological Survey magazine said in a September report that if the trend of global warming continues, the number of polar bears could drop to one third of the current level by 2050, without any left in Alaska by then.
Source:Xinhua
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