美国计划把北极熊列为濒危动物

翻译：乐怡

The US government has announced plans to list polar bears as a threatened species because of concerns that the ice where they live is melting[融化的]. The US plans are also important for other reasons.

美国政府已宣布计划把北极熊列为濒危物种，原因是考虑到它们的生存地上的冰块正在融化。美国政府所拟定的这个计划也有其它重要的原因。

It’s estimated[估计] that there are no more than 25,000 polar bears living in the wild, and this number could decline[下降] drastically[激烈地] as the Arctic ice floes[大浮冰] upon which the bears survive melt away. Now, without admitting the cause of this melt, the US Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing the bear’s status.

That action is being taken at all, marks a significant departure[离开] for the Bush administration; for the first time, it may be forced to acknowledge[承认] a link between global warming and its effect on a species. Such a conclusion by a reluctant[勉强的] Bush administration could force far wider changes in Washington’s policy towards the environment.

This review only came about after a coalition[合并] of environmental groups sued[控告] the government to take action. Environmentalists, like David Doniger, believe that by invoking[请求] the protections of the Endangered Species Act, the US government may eventually be forced to cut back on[减低] its emissions[散发] of greenhouse gases:

“it is a big deal today to have the Bush administration recognise that global warming is threatening the existence of the polar bear. Now, it’s up to the administration to do something to stop the global warming that’s threatening the polar bear.?

The United States is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases which are blamed for trapping heat from the sun and altering[改变] the earth’s climate. Since taking office in 2001, President Bush has refused to make the link with global warming, but the plight[困境] of the polar bear may force that position to change.

据估计，全球野生北极熊的数量不超过两万五千只，而这个数字还可能会急剧下降，原因是北极熊所生活的北极圈大浮冰正在不断融化。目前，美国鱼类与野生动植物协会尚未承认浮冰融化的成因，却正在评估北极熊的生存状况。

对此状况采取行动是布什政府离任的重要标志。这是布什政府首次受舆论压力而承认全球变暖与动植物所受影响之间存在密切关系。布什政府勉强地作出如此总结可能会迫使美国在环境政策方面发生巨大而深远的改变。

评估刚好发生在环保组织联合敦促政府应该采取措施之后，像大卫・东尼格这样的环保论者相信，通过请求制定保护濒临灭绝物种的议案，美国政府可能最终会被迫降低导致温室效应的气体的排放。

“今天布什政府能意识到全球变暖问题正威胁着北极熊的生存状况，这已是很了不起的事情。如今是政府部门为遏制全球变暖趋势加剧而采取行动的时候了，这个问题已威胁到北极熊的生存。”

美国是世界上温室气体排放量最大的国家―温室气体会吸收来自太阳的热量，被指为改变地球气候系统的罪魁祸首。布什总统自2001年上任以来，一直拒绝承担美国在全球变暖问题上应负的责任，但是北极熊所面临的困境可能会迫使他改变立场。