Opinion: One for the bear

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Now the Interior Department has to make up its mind by May 15 whether to list the polar bear as threatened. It’s been putting off this decision for months after its original deadline, and a federal judge finally ordered it to move forward, even if it does want to sell a bunch of oil leases in prime polar-bear habitat.

That’s not to say this is an easy decision. Polar bear populations have been growing in recent decades. These aren’t condors, folks. The question isn’t the bear’s numbers, but whether global warming is melting the ice floes that polar bears depend on for much of their lives. And that opens up a big can of worms. Like, does buying a Hummer contribute to the bear’s decline--if it is declining? Not bad questions for us to start asking.

But Interior has been looking at this for years. The decision isn’t going to get any easier, unless rising ocean levels suddenly have water sloshing into DC.