Listing the Polar Bear Under the Endangered Species Act Because of Projected Global Warming Could Harm Bears and Humans Alike

Few animals capture the imaginations of Americans quite like the polar bear. Just ask Coca-Cola, whose animated polar bear advertisement has become an annual holiday staple. Seemingly impervious to the brutal conditions of the Great White North, these mammoth bears exude an aura of cuddly invincibility.

But some environmental groups claim the polar bear is in danger of extinction due to what they believe is anthropogenic (human-caused) global warming. These groups have filed a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to list the bear as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act, or ESA.