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==Global Warming Controversy==

==Global Warming Controversy==

The polar bear has become a "symbol of global warming caused by humans" in the eyes of environmentalists.  

The polar bear has become a "symbol of global warming caused by humans" in the eyes of environmentalists.  

The [[World Conservation Union]] (IUCN) classified the polar bear as a "vulnerable species" on the "Red List of Threatened Species".<ref>2007 IUCN Red List: [http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/22823/all "Ursus maritimus"]</ref> The given reason was not hunting, but rather the assumed impact of global warming on their habitat.<ref>''Global climate change posses a substantial threat to the habitat of polar bears.'' - 2007 IUCN Red List: [http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/22823/all "Ursus maritimus"] (Justification section)</ref><ref>''"I don't think there is any question polar bears are in danger from global warming," said Andrew Derocher of the World Conservation Union, and a professor of biological sciences at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. "People who deny that have a clear interest in hunting bears."'' - Telegraph.co.uk: [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/09/wpolar09.xml " Polar bears 'thriving as the Arctic warms up' "]</ref><ref>''Climate change is the main threat to polar bears today. A diminishing ice pack directly affects polar bears, as sea ice is the platform from which they hunt seals. Although the Arctic has experienced warm periods before, the present shrinking of the Arctic's sea ice is rapid and unprecedented.''- Polar Bears International: [http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/bear-facts/ Bear Facts]</ref>

The [[World Conservation Union]] (IUCN) classified the polar bear as a "vulnerable species" on the "Red List of Threatened Species".<ref>2007 IUCN Red List: [http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/22823/all "Ursus maritimus"]</ref> The given reason was not hunting, but rather the assumed impact of global warming on their habitat.<ref>''Global climate change posses a substantial threat to the habitat of polar bears.'' - 2007 IUCN Red List: [http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/22823/all "Ursus maritimus"] (Justification section)</ref><ref>''"I don't think there is any question polar bears are in danger from global warming," said Andrew Derocher of the World Conservation Union, and a professor of biological sciences at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. "People who deny that have a clear interest in hunting bears."'' - Telegraph.co.uk: [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/09/wpolar09.xml " Polar bears 'thriving as the Arctic warms up' "]</ref><ref>''Climate change is the main threat to polar bears today. A diminishing ice pack directly affects polar bears, as sea ice is the platform from which they hunt seals. Although the Arctic has experienced warm periods before, the present shrinking of the Arctic's sea ice is rapid and unprecedented.''- Polar Bears International: [http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/bear-facts/ Bear Facts]</ref>

Some groups even went as far as suing the Interior Department with the aim of adding polar bears to the list of threatened species.<ref>International Herald Tribune: [http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/28/news/bear.php "Melting arctic ice pushes polar bear population closer to the edge"]</ref>

Some groups even went as far as suing the Interior Department with the aim of adding polar bears to the list of threatened species.<ref>International Herald Tribune: [http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/28/news/bear.php "Melting arctic ice pushes polar bear population closer to the edge"]</ref>