Efforts to conserve and protect polar bears date from at least the 1960s, with threats such as hunting and increased contact with humans because of oil exploration; but the threat of receding sea ice was a major theme of news stories about polar bears in 2006. The IUCN World Conservation Union listed the polar bear as vulnerable in its IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ in 2006, and December 27 Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. “Polar bears are one of nature’s ultimate survivors, able to live and thrive in one of the world’s harshest environments,” Kempthorne said. “But we are concerned the polar bears’ habitat may literally be melting.”
Works on conservation of polar bears are classed in 333.95978616 Conservation and protection of polar bears (built with 333.959 Specific kinds of mammals as biological resources plus 786 from 599.786 Ursus maritimus [Polar bear] plus 16 Conservation and protection from the add table under 333.7-333.9 Natural resources and energy, according to the instructions under 333.9592-333.9598 Subdivisions for specific kinds of mammals). Interdisciplinary works on polar bears are classed in 599.786 Ursus maritimus (Polar bear).
Hi Juli. FYI, Encyclopedia Britannica's earth sciences editor John Rafferty provides some background on the proposal to list the polar bear at http://blogs.britannica.com/blog/main/2007/01/listing-the-polar-bear/
Posted by: EBlogger | 21 January 2007 at 05:38 PM