MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Polar explorer Will Steger (STEE'-ger) says he doubts the decision to list the polar bear as a threatened species will mean much more protection for the endangered animals. But he says Wednesday's decision by the Interior Department at least puts the problem of global warming on the front burner, and he supports anything that focuses attention on that.
Steger spoke via satellite phone from the Canadian Arctic, where he's leading a dogsled expedition to Ellesmere Island, the northernmost island in Canada.
The team is less than 500 miles from the North Pole. Steger says their progress has been complicated by a large concentration of polar bears who have come to hunt seals.
The expedition includes six people in their 20s from the U.S., Canada, Britain and Norway. They're seeking to build support among young people for solutions to global warming.
