And in other news from Washington, the Bush administration’s stance on polar bears came under fire Thursday at a hearing on Capitol Hill. The administration has approved oil exploration in Alaska despite an ongoing dispute over whether the bears should be protected under the Endangered Species Act. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dale Hall said the White House believes the bears won’t be affected.

Dale Hall: “The service determined that these activities do not threaten polar bears throughout all or significant portion of their range after a review of factors including the mitigation measures, required under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, historical information on development activities, lack of direct quantifiable impacts to habitat from these activities noted to date, the localized nature of development activities or possible events such as oil spills.”

The bears’ arctic habitat has seen declining ice coverage by the year—a decline environmentalists blame on global warming. Congressmember Ed Markey criticized the White House stance.

Rep. Ed Markey: “In the end, man can adapt while the bear cannot. We can act to prevent global warming, but the bear cannot. We can develop alternatives to oil, the bear cannot. When the ice is gone, man cheers about new commercial opportunities for oil and gas drilling while the bear starves and drowns. I have been hoping for common sense from the Department of the Interior and from [Interior] Secretary [Dirk] Kempthorne, but I have heard that all-too-common abandonment of common sense here today.”