RICHARD FREEMAN: Help save the polar bear

On March 11, Congress passed, and President Barack Obama signed into law, a bill giving Interior Secretary Ken Salazar the authority to immediately revoke two Bush administration rules that fundamentally undermine protections for the nation's endangered species. The first rule exempts thousands of federal activities from review under the Endangered Species Act, and the second sharply limits protections for the polar bear and other imperiled Arctic species by excluding greenhouse gas emissions outside the Arctic from regulation. Under the bill, if Secretary Salazar does not withdraw the Bush-era rules by May 9, the regulations will stay in effect. This will be a disaster for endangered species.

Right now, Interior Secretary Salazar is touring the country for public hearings on offshore oil and gas. On Tuesday he'll be in Anchorage and on Thursday he'll be in San Francisco. Center for Biological Diversity staff will be at the hearings to speak out for endangered species protections. And we'll deliver your and your friends' signatures in person to make sure Salazar gets the message.

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/t/8257/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1878

Secretary Salazar must act immediately, or lose this precious opportunity to instantly remedy one of Bush's worst environmental attacks. Please contact Secretary Salazar and demand that he immediately revoke the Bush regulations exempting federal projects, including those that emit greenhouse gases, from scientific review, as well as the special rule for the polar bear.

We have just 25 days to make sure Salazar revokes the Bush administration's last-minute attacks on the Endangered Species Act. Help the Center for Biological Diversity gather 75,000 signatures to send Secretary Salazar by May 9. Please -- sign the petition and forward this alert to a friend now.