Attorney General Dan Sullivan announced Wednesday he has filed a supplement to the state's earlier lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C. In it, the state claims the U.S. Department of Interior did not respond to the state's concerns in a timely manner before polar bears were listed last year.
Former Gov. Sarah Palin and the state filed an initial lawsuit in August 2008, fearing a listing would cripple offshore oil and gas development in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, which provide prime habitat for the only polar bears under U.S. jurisdiction.
Gov. Sean Parnell, who succeeded Palin upon her resignation last summer, joined Sullivan at a news conference in which they said the Endangered Species Act was being used as a way to shut down resource development along Alaska's northern coast. Parnell said he does not intend to let that happen.
I think it is time for Alaskans to let our Governor and our Attorney General know that MOST Alaskans love polar bears and would desperately like to protect them.
What? You want to know how I know that?
Because I used to go to the Alaska Zoo during the years that Binky the Polar Bear was the most famous resident there. That's how!
Binky was the MOST popular attraction at the Alaska Zoo for almost twenty years. People came from far and wide to get a look at this magnificent animal.
There were Binky stuffed animals , Binky coloring books, Binky children's books, you name it and there was a Binky version of it.
At first Binky was only famous in Alaska, but in 1994 after an Australian tourist got too close to Binky's cage, he gained international fame.
I know what you are thinking, "Holy crap that bear almost ate that poor woman!" And my response to that is, "No kidding dumbass, he is a freaking POLAR BEAR! That is why there are all of those giant metal bars around him!"
However my point is that before Binky started collecting the shoes of Australian tourists, he was already an icon here in Anchorage. And do you know why?Because Alaskans love their wildlife, and they especially love their polar bears. And why not? They are gorgeous, they are powerful, they are independent, and seeing one up close was absolutely breathtaking.
Governor Parnell and AG Sullivan seem to only be motivated by the desire for profit and the knee jerk desire to protect the big oil companies that line the pockets of the GOP up here in Alaska.
This party, and these companies, simply cannot be bothered with demonstrating compassion for a species that is losing its natural habitat at an alarming rate. Oh no, that may somewhat reduce the obscene amount of money they make off of oil production! We can't have that!
You know what I think? I think that Governor Parnell does not understand just how much Alaskans love and honor the polar bears that share our beautiful state. Perhaps he needs to hear that. You can totally tell him by clicking here. And while you are at it, perhaps AG Sullivan needs to hear from you as well.
Clearly we do not have to convince the Obama administration as they are ready to put aside 200,541 square miles on the coast of Alaska as critical habitat for polar bears.
So the question is simple. Do we continue to drill for, and burn fossil fuels, while destroying critical polar ice and the bears that call it home? Or do we demonstrate that we have learned from our past mistakes and are ready to start respecting the creatures that share this planet with us, and to working to ensure their survival?
