Judge Orders US Polar Bear Decision By May 15
The Bush administration must decide by May 15 whether polar bears in the United States should be listed as threatened by climate change under the Endangered Species Act, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday, barring further delay. US District Judge Claudia Wilken in Oakland, California, ruled in favour of the plaintiffs -- the Natural Resources Defence Council, the Centre for Biological Diversity and Greenpeace -- finding the US government broke the law by missing the deadline for a polar bear decision by four months.