Global Warming Threatens Penguins, Cong. Calls for Action
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Select Committee, 202-225-4012
Global Warming Threatens More Than Half of World’s Species of Penguins
Members of Congress Urge Bush Administration to Take Action Under Endangered Species Act
WASHINGTON (September 18, 2007) – Today 18 Members of Congress signed a letter to the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) urging the Bush administration to take action under the Endangered Species Act to protect ten species of penguins.
“The march of the penguins will be a distant memory if the White House does not take action to protect these majestic creatures,” said Edward J. Markey, Chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
“Just as we are seeing the polar bear harmed by global warming in the Arctic, global warming is leading to the massive destruction and alteration of the Antarctic habitat that is essential for the survival of the penguin. Half the world’s penguin population is at risk, it is imperative that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service take action to protect these animals under the Endangered Species Act,” added Chairman Markey.
The FWS is currently soliciting comments on the listing of the emperor penguin, southern rockhopper penguin, northern rockhopper penguin, fiordland crested penguin, erect-crested penguin, macaroni penguin, white-flippered penguin, yellow-eyed penguin, african penguin and humboldt penguin.
“Today it’s penguins and polar bears, but if we don’t take bold action to address global warming, tomorrow it’ll be a laundry list of animals threatened by warming temperatures,” said U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, a member of the global warming panel who also has been active in pushing for the listing of polar bears as a threatened species. “We need these species listed, but more importantly, we need the administration to use their regulatory authority to slash greenhouse-gas emissions that are putting them in peril.”
With the exception of the emperor penguin, each of these penguin species is already recognized as vulnerable or endangered by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and BirdLife International. Over half of the world’s 19 penguin species are in danger of extinction due to a variety of threats such as industrial over-fishing, direct take, and habitat loss and degradation that is resulting from global warming.
“Scientific experts tell us that global warming will ultimately place 30 percent of all the worlds’ plant and animal species at risk of extinction, the time to act to protect penguins and countless other species is now,” concluded Chairman Markey.
CLICK HERE to download a copy of the letter.
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