Protecting the Polar Bear

Here is an interesting a CNN column I used as a reference just to point out that I used the term Sci/Tech Blog first (I'm not claiming any infringement, since I never trademarked it, but I just want everyone to know I thought of it first. So there.)
Anyway, CNN's Peter Dykstra ponders the recent decision to list polar bears as a threatened species. There's been a lot of debate on whether this is justified, since it's not firmly documented that the species is declining, and hunting has been limited to a level that doesn't pose a threat. However, fear of the effects of climate change has prompted wildlife organizations and now the U.S. government to insist the bears have to be protected as much as possible.
COMMENT: While I think this is the right call, it does stretch the official definition of a "threatened" species. Whoever the next President is, Senators Obama, Clinton, and McCain all have strong pro-environment stands, and we may see a significant expansion of the government's powers and its activity under the Endangered Species Act.