That favorite symbol of the Arctic, the famed polar bear, is now officially listed as an endangered species courtesy of the USA’s Department of the Interior under the Endangered Species Act but the anticipated effects of this action are up in the air for the moment. The classification of one of the world’s favorite animals is not unusual in and of itself but the reasoning behind it is, leaving many to wonder how it will impact events beyond the North Pole.

The placement of the polar bear on the list of endangered species is a bold move largely because this marks the first time a species has been named solely because of the effects of global warming and climate change on its habitat, theories not highly endorsed by the Bush administration. The decision gives credence to the climate change theory while at the same time placing the administration in a tough position as far as their relationships with large energy companies go.

By agreeing to the designation, the government is declaring that global warming is a real phenomenon, having real impacts on real creatures: according to the US Geological survey, up to two-thirds of the polar bears in the Arctic may be gone within the next fifty years as a direct result of the loss of sea ice. It looks like a victory for those looking to save the species in most respects. What seems like a clear win for environmental activists, however, may be somewhat dubious in practical application in the real world.

At almost the same time as the passage of the polar bear’s new classification, $2.7 billion worth of leases were handed out to energy companies for new exploration in the Chukchi Sea, the area between Alaska and Russia which is home to roughly 20% of the world’s total population of the bears. While the US government insists there are no recorded injuries to polar bears as a result of oil and natural gas exploration and recovery, many are wondering with what measure of seriousness they can take an environmental protection act that is enacted at the same time as an award in the billion dollar range that gives license to continue on in the same destructive path that may have created the problem originally.

Will the designation of polar bears as an endangered have any long term effects on the state of the energy industry in the USA or will there continue to be special considerations made to special interests, even at the cost of an entire animal species? It’s hard to imagine at this moment that there will be a serious turn of the tide, at least anytime in the immediate future.

It does seem that public opinion will continue to spur the government on to crafting more far reaching legislation to protect the polar bear and other animals in danger of falling prey to human expansion and human need. At this point the plight of the lovable polar bear has captured the hearts of people around the world and it is the sincere hope of many that this will be the enough to protect the fate of this beautiful and rare creature.