DEADLINE SET FOR POLAR BEAR STATUS.

The article reports that a federal court has given the U.S. federal government until May 15, 2008 to decide whether the polar bear should be protected as a threatened species. The court's order will force the Department of the Interior to determine whether climate change is shrinking the sea-ice habitat of the polar bear. If the Department has decided that climate change is affecting the habitat, it must list polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.