To deny the fact that polar bears are in danger of extinction from unmitigated climate change, the Daily Caller turned to a Heartland Institute-affiliated biologist who dismissed scientific computer climate models as an “opinion.”

“The single most important step for polar bear conservation is decisive action to address Arctic warming,” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) wrote this week in their draft recovery plan for polar bears, which are listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The plan was issued after newly released data from the U.S. Geological Services (USGS) showed that greenhouse gas emissions are the species' “primary threat,” due to the predicted Arctic sea ice loss that will diminish polar bears' habitat and food supplies.

But don't worry, polar bears are “doing just fine,” according to the Daily Caller. 

To refute the federal agencies' warnings, the conservative news publication turned to scientists affiliated with the fossil fuel-backed Heartland Institute. Daily Caller first quoted Canadian biologist Mitchell Taylor, who dismissed the USGS' report because he said it is “based on climate models, not empirical data.” The agency's climate models are “an expression of their opinion,” said Taylor, adding that “it's simply their idea of what will happen if the carbon models are correct.”

Taylor prefers “empirical data” to modeled forecasts of climate change. However, the empirical data also show that Arctic sea ice has been declining at record rates. The sea ice levels recently were at their lowest for the month of May since record-keeping began in the 1980s, and have been on a steady decline since then.

Taylor was a contributing author for the Heartland Institute's “Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change” (NIPCC) report that attempts to mirror and debunk UN climate science reports. He has also signed the Manhattan Declaration, which posits that carbon dioxide -- the primary factor in human-caused climate change -- is “not a pollutant but rather a necessity for all life.”

Daily Caller also quoted zoologist Susan Crockford, who dismissed the USFWS report as alarmist and “flawed,” and who also co-authored Heartland's report. The online outlet frequently turns to Crockford to deny global warming's impact on wildlife.