Polar bear to stay on endangered list

WASHINGTON - A federal judge yesterday backed a finding by government scientists that global warming threatens the survival of the polar bear.

US District Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled that a May 2008 decision by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to place the bear on the endangered species list because of melting sea ice was rational, given the facts and best available science.

Environmental groups had sued, saying the polar bear needed more protection under the Endangered Species Act. Hunting groups and the state of Alaska, then under the leadership of Governor Sarah Palin, argued that the bear is protected by other laws and scientists could not predict global warming’s toll on the mammal.