Interior Makes Surprise Call on Endangered Species Act

Kudos to Ken Salazar and, by extension President Obama, for his decision to retain the Bush Administration's position that the Endangered Species Act (ESA) should not be used to regulate climate change. Environmental groups had been pressing the Interior Department to reject a rule that limits use of the ESA to control greenhouse gases. A listing under the ESA triggers some pretty drastic action in defense of the listed species, and the environmentalists' hope had been that, with a rule change, they could force greater controls on carbon dioxide production in order to protect polar bear habitat. Salazar believes that more may need to be done for polar bears (questionable, since their numbers have been rising since the 1950's) but that it isn't good policy to regulate greenhouse gases through the ESA. There are plenty of other avenues EPA is exploring for that purpose, and it's reasonable to use those direct avenues rather than a roundabout approach.

This article from the New York Times provides more detail.