It was a hollow victory for environmental groups and the poster child of global warming, the polar bear. In May, the US Government finally listed the polar bear as threatened, but stated clearly that the bears would be given no additional protection beyond what is already provided by the Marine Mammal Act.

Now the Bush administration has also granted permission to oil and gas companies to harass “small numbers” of polar bears and walruses in the Chukchi Sea, stating that the major threat to the bear is climate change, not oil and gas exploration. Employees will be trained in how to handle bear encounters, but the companies will not be held liable if the bears are unintentionally harmed.

Environmental groups are suing the government because it has failed to protect the bears by addressing climate change. Coming at them from the other side, the state of Alaska is also suing the government to revoke the bear’s “threatened” designation, concerned that it will endanger oil and gas development.

Polar bears wishing to emigrate aren’t having any better luck in other countries. A wandering polar bear was recently shot and killed in Iceland, the first seen on the island in twenty years.

Take steps to protect the polar bear at the Center for Biological Diversity.