Polar Bear SOS is mobilizing hundreds of thousands of Americans in favor of strong protection for the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act -- a crucial first step toward saving the bear from the ravages of global warming. The Bush Administration announced in December 2006 that it was considering endangered species protection for the polar bear, but that doesn't mean it will approve this life-saving step, much less enforce it.

In fact, the Bush Administration's proposal fails to designate critical habitat areas for the polar bear -- even though melting habitat is the leading threat to the bear. Its proposal also refuses to identify global warming as the cause of that disappearing habitat, as if the polar bear could be saved without reducing our nation's global warming pollution.

That's why, during a 90-day public comment period in 2007, Polar Bear SOS generated 250,000 Citizen Comments urging the Bush Administration to designate "critical habitat" for the polar bear and address human-caused global warming as the main threat to its survival. With a final decision due early next year, we must keep up the pressure for polar bear protection.

Please help us reach our goal of 500,000 pro-bear messages. Act now!

Polar Bear SOS is a campaign of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). NRDC’s purpose is to safeguard the Earth: its people, its plants and animals and the natural systems on which all life depends.

To find out more about NRDC, visit www.nrdc.org. For more information on our partner organization, the NRDC Action Fund, please visit www.nrdcactionfund.org.