In Alaska It's the Polar Bear Vs. Natural Gas
What animal comes to mind when you think of Alaska? If you said polar bears, you would be right. The only place you can find a polar bear in the U.S. is in Alaska, but if Alaskan legislators have their way, some think the polar bear could be in trouble.
The federal government is considering placing the polar bear on the Endangered Species list. Polar bears live on the Arctic sea ice, and Alaskan politicians are worried that if the polar bear makes the list, the federal government would come up with a plan to protect the sea ice.
So, why is that a problem? Alaskans are waiting for a proposed $26 billion natural gas pipeline to be approved. They know that the new pipeline will help the Alaskan economy.
Ninety percent of Alaska’s unrestricted revenue comes from the oil industry and Alaskan politicians are worried that the money they get from oil could decrease in the near future. They would like the new natural gas pipeline because it will provide a new source of money for the state.
But what about the polar bears? One of the groups that sued to protect the polar bears said that there is a lot of evidence that the polar bears are on the decline in Alaska and they think that the drop-off has been caused by the loss of sea ice.
There is less sea ice right now in Alaska than at any other time in the last 38 years according to satellite record-keeping.
The lines are drawn in this face-off between the people who want to protect the polar bears and the people who want to build the natural gas pipeline.
Source: MSNBC
BLOG QUESTION
If you had a chance to vote on this issue, would you approve the pipeline or would you say no to protect the polar bears?
The federal government is considering placing the polar bear on the Endangered Species list. Polar bears live on the Arctic sea ice, and Alaskan politicians are worried that if the polar bear makes the list, the federal government would come up with a plan to protect the sea ice.
So, why is that a problem? Alaskans are waiting for a proposed $26 billion natural gas pipeline to be approved. They know that the new pipeline will help the Alaskan economy.
Ninety percent of Alaska’s unrestricted revenue comes from the oil industry and Alaskan politicians are worried that the money they get from oil could decrease in the near future. They would like the new natural gas pipeline because it will provide a new source of money for the state.
But what about the polar bears? One of the groups that sued to protect the polar bears said that there is a lot of evidence that the polar bears are on the decline in Alaska and they think that the drop-off has been caused by the loss of sea ice.
There is less sea ice right now in Alaska than at any other time in the last 38 years according to satellite record-keeping.
The lines are drawn in this face-off between the people who want to protect the polar bears and the people who want to build the natural gas pipeline.
Source: MSNBC
BLOG QUESTION
If you had a chance to vote on this issue, would you approve the pipeline or would you say no to protect the polar bears?
4 Comments:
I would help the polar bears. Animals are very important. The pipeline could work after the polar bears are saved. The disappearance of the ice is going to make some people a little scared. We need to save the polar bears soon.
polar bears are in trouble! people are going to put the polar bears on the endangered speices list! people want to protect them but som do not. i wan't to protect polar bears because they are so cute and fuzzy and they deserve to stay on this planet. i would be very upset to not have polar bears on our planet anymore. it would be very upsetting.
I would DEFINITELY save the polar bears! We can survive without gas. We have for most of our existence on this planet! However, polar bears are precious, adorable creatures, that may become wiped off the face of this Earth due to US and OUR selfishness! It would be terrible if people viewed polar bears one day as we do dinosaurs. We need to stop the constant demand for gas, and we need to stop it...fast!!
I would vote against the natural gas pipe because it isn't NEEDED and once polar bears are gone, they won't be able to be saved. There are many different ways to help the Alaskan economy and we should think of alternatives. Also, natural gas and oil are not environmental and we should think of ways that stop global warming.
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