One of the iconic images of global warming that is supposed to make us feel guilty enough to bankrupt our economy by giving in to various carbon schemes is that of the pathetic polar bear alone in the middle of the ocean on a rapidly shrinking ice floe. We are told that the poor creature is going extinct because the ice is melting and his usual feeding on seals is no longer possible.

Even I shed a tear when I see that poor bear, alone and helpless, waiting to die.

Er, not so fast:

The Obama administration is sticking with a George W. Bush-era decision to deny polar bears endangered species status.

In a court filing Wednesday, the Fish and Wildlife Service defended the previous administration's decision to give the polar bear the less-protective "threatened" species designation, a move that will frustrate environmentalists who hoped for stronger protections under the Endangered Species Act.

FWS Director Rowan Gould said the 2008 "threatened" listing was made "following careful analysis of the best scientific information, as required by the ESA."

At the time, the service determined the bears weren't danger of extinction, so did not warrant the "endangered" status. The bears were listed as "threatened" because they face serious threats from projected decline in its sea ice habitat due to global warming would result in them likely being in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future.

FWS is "confident it was and is the appropriate status," Gould said.

How "threatened" are the bears? Much more so from human hunting than from global warming. And while southern populations appear to be thinning, 11 of the 19 polar bear subpopulations are doing just fine thanks. As oil exploration and other human activity crowds the bears in the south, there doesn't seem to be much of a problem farther north where there are far fewer humans.

But the warming alarmists will continue to use the polar bear as a symbol of their cause because - admit it - they're so darn cute. Good thing they'll be around a lot longer than a lot of other species who aren't so lucky to avoid human contact.