Until now, the Alaskan oil industry and polar bears have coexisted peacefully, but proposals by the U.S. government to list polar bears as endangered by global warming have cast a shadow on oil development on Alaska's North Slope.

A "threatened" listing for the struggling bears, proposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, could bring new regulatory hurdles for future exploration and drilling, industry advocates say.

Listing the bears as threatened "has the potential to damage Alaska's and the nation's economy without any benefit to polar bear numbers or their habitat," Gov. Sarah Palin wrote in a letter to U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne that argued against the listing and its protections.

Government scientists say polar bears are imperiled because of a warming Arctic climate. Studies have documented plunging survival rates for cubs, falling body weights for adults, strandings on land for bears that are used to hunting for prey on vast expanses of ice, and even drowning cases.

http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=12143

[Big deal. Slay the bears and make yourself nice pelts. Did I mention that pelts could also get you a hefty sum in the market?]