A Plea from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

After eight years of suffering under the Bush Administration's "polluters-first" policies, the polar bear is now hurtling headlong toward extinction.

It's up to the Obama Administration to slam on the brakes, put Bush's dangerous policies in reverse, and give the green light to full-fledged endangered species protection for the polar bear.

But that won't happen unless millions of Americans speak out now.

Why? Because President Obama's Interior Department will be under tremendous pressure from the oil lobby to maintain the Bush policy that puts oil development first and polar bears dead last.

We must make our voices heard if we are to persuade Interior Secretary Salazar to cancel Bush's "polar bears be damned" approach.

The stakes could not be higher. In the last year alone, the Bush Administration auctioned off a vast expanse of Alaska's Chukchi Sea to Shell and other oil giants -- exposing half of America's polar bears to potential drilling and lethal oil spills.

And only two months ago, Bush officials weakened the Endangered Species Act so badly that it no longer protects polar bears against the two deadliest threats they face: oil development and global warming.

But Interior Secretary Salazar is unlikely to defy Big Oil -- unless we mobilize a nationwide outcry that can't be ignored.

That's why it's so important that you send your own Citizen Petition right now and help NRDC ratchet up this next critical phase of our Polar Bear S.O.S. campaign.

Let the new Interior Secretary know you care deeply about saving the polar bear. Remind him that the American people expect our government agencies to protect our country's wildlife -- not sacrifice them for corporate profits.

Together, we can reverse eight years of relentless attacks on the polar bear -- and finally give these magnificent Arctic creatures a fighting chance at survival.

Sincerely,

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Senior Attorney
Natural Resources Defense Council

Click on title above to sign petition;
http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/Rescue_the_Polar_Bear