U.S. Delays Global Warming Decision on Polar Bears. By Deborah Zabarenko, Reuters, January 8, 2008. "The U.S. delayed a decision on whether global warming threatens polar bears, saying on Monday new data and public comment required more time. Environmentalists vowed to sue for quicker action. The deadline for deciding whether to list the big white bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act is Wednesday but Dale Hall, head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, told reporters it would take as much as a month more to analyze all the information. This is the first time global warming has been a factor in proposing threatened status for any U.S. species, Hall said, and that has added to the complexity of the decision... 'I'm not saying that there is scientific uncertainty under the act and it's unfortunately one of those times... we'll have to miss the deadline in order to provide the quality product that needs to be provided,' [Hall] said... Within minutes... environmental groups vowed to sue to enforce the deadline... 'The Bush administration has squandered seven years denying the devastating scientific evidence of global warming,' Kert Davies of Greenpeace USA said in a statement. 'Stalling has cost us dearly, putting the polar bear at risk of extinction and jeopardizing the future welfare of billions of people around the world.' Greenpeace, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Center for Biological Diversity said in a joint statement they plan to start the legal process on Wednesday."