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US govt 'protects' penguins against global warming
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-19 15:37 The US government has acknowledged the threat that global warming poses to penguins by proposing to give protected status to seven species.
However, the Bush administration refused to extend "threatened" status to other species including the emperor and northern rockhopper penguins made famous in the films Happy Feet and March of the Penguins. Wildlife campaigners protested that the US Fish and Wildlife Service has not gone far enough in proposing to list only six species as threatened and one, the African penguin, as an endangered species. The US government and the Centre for Biological Diversity, a conservation group, have been arguing for years over the impact of climate change on penguins. Recent research has projected that an increase in temperature of two degrees would kill half the emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica as their ice pack habitat melted away. But the government said there was insufficient evidence to list the emperor as threatened at present, citing uncertainty over climate change predictions. None of the penguins actually live in the US but activists say that listing them will raise awareness about their problems and could prompt America to protect them in international talks on issues such as the environment and fishing. Other species that will be listed include the yellow-eyed penguin, white-flippered penguin, Fiordland crested penguin, Humboldt penguin and erect-crested penguin, along with some southern rockhoppers. "Penguin populations are in jeopardy, and we can't afford to further delay protections," said Brendan Cummings, the oceans programme director for the Tucson-based Centre for Biological Diversity, which had requested protection for 12 species.
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