Some see EPA's climate proposal prodding Interior on ESA

Environmental groups that have been trying through a series of lawsuits to force U.S. regulation of greenhouse gases to protect endangered species say they have been given a valuable legal weapon in a new U.S. EPA proposal that calls such emissions a threat to public health. The Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups tried using lawsuits citing global warming to force the Bush administration to protect the polar bear and several other species, only to be thwarted by the Interior Department's posting of a rule that explicitly exempted greenhouse gases from Endangered Species Act regulation. Now, some of those groups see EPA's proposed "endangerment finding" -- which could lead to regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act -- as a tool to prod the Obama administration to reverse that rule. Brendan Cummings, an attorney for the center, said EPA's proposal is "recognition that existing law can and should be used to address the climate crisis." "We don't need to wait for Congress or an international agreement," Cummings said. For now, the decision rests with Obama's Interior secretary, Ken Salazar. Congress has given him authority to strike the greenhouse gas exemption and other Bush-era changes to the Endangered Species Act. He must act by May 10...NY Times

We all saw this coming, the minute George Bush listed the polar bear.