"As the Arctic warms faster than any other place on the planet and sea ice declines, there is only one sure way to save polar bears from extinction, the government announced Monday: decisive action on climate change.

In a final plan to save an animal that greatly depends on ice to catch prey and survive, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service identified the rapid decline of sea ice as 'the primary threat to polar bears' and said 'the single most important achievement for polar bear conservation is decisive action to address Arctic warming' driven by the human emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

'Short of action that effectively addresses the primary cause of diminishing sea ice,'the agency’s plan said, 'it is unlikely that polar bears will be recovered.'"

Darryl Fears reports for the Washington Post January 9, 2017.