Causecast

by SARAH NELSON, Contributing Writer

You won’t find any penguins in the United States outside of your community zoo exhibit, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently working to protect the global penguin population under the Endangered Species Act. If there are no wild penguins in the United States, why is a U.S. government agency working to protect them? Good question. The answer: conservation. By listing penguins under the ESA, permits will be required to import and export the animals. Penguin smuggling – no good. Plus, listing penguins on the protected species list will hopefully generate needed international attention to protect penguins that are currently in danger of extinction.

While penguin populations are plummeting, some species by fifty-percent, penguins are not officially listed as an endangered species. The pending proposal would list seven penguin species under the Endangered Species Act. Six species would be listed as "threatened" while the seventh species, the African Penguin would be declared "endangered." The proposal to review the penguins’ need for protection comes on the heels of a massive lawsuit, and the consequential court order to take action.

In addition to being added to the Endangered Species List, the proposal ensures that any activity conducted by government agencies and funded by federal dollars cannot interfere with the continued existence of any protected species. The global penguin population has declined due to industrial fisheries that deplete their food supply. Adding penguins to the Endangered Species List would require the government agencies to analyze the impact that U.S.-licensed fishing vessels have on the listed penguin species. Have you seen Happy Feet? That means no federal fishing in Antarctica.

The Act also plays a significant role in reducing carbon emissions by pushing companies to adapt to greener solutions to curb the effects of global warming that continues to destroy the penguins’ natural habitat.

To get involved, write to your elected officials, telling them to give penguins their rightful place on the Endangered Species List.

To directly impact the life of a penguin, you can adopt a penguin at worldwildlife.org.

To help kick global warming to the curb, send a message to your representatives urging them to support the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act. Also, visit the green peace website and see how you can get involved. From here, you can contact various world leaders, urging them to attend the Climate Summit in Copenhagen this December.

Photo by wili_hybrid, flickr.