Fox in the Hen House

13 August 2008



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White House Weakens Endangered Species Act

While the world was trying to figure out the Russian-Georgian mess and what a cad John Edwards is, the White House announced a “narrow regulatory change” to the Endangered Species Act. If allowed to stand, this change will ensure that more species wind up endangered or even extinct. Federal agencies will now decide whether construction projects endanger wildlife and plants. Up until now, an independent scientific committee made that decision.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said, “We need to focus our efforts where they will do the most good. It is important to use our time and resources to protect the most vulnerable species. It is not possible to draw a link between greenhouse gas emissions and distant observations of impacts on species.” Tell that to the polar bears, while they’re still around.

What is also troubling is the regulation change has only a 30-day period for public comment. The reason for this short window is clear. The new regulations would be in place before the November election. Since these are merely regulations that do not require Congressional approval, a new administration could reverse the change with a stroke of a pen. However, such things take time, months even. Moreover, some of the more controversial cases could be rammed through with Bush appointees still in office before anyone could complain.

John Kostyack, Executive Director of Wildlife Conservation and Global Warming at the National Wildlife Federation, said in a press release, “I have been working on the Endangered Species Act for 15 years and have never seen such a sneaky attack. To suggest that our nation's most important wildlife law could be gutted after a mere [30-day] written comment period is the height of arrogance and disrespect for wildlife science. Elected officials have been saying no to proposals like this for years.” Thirty-five years to be exact.

Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope hit the nail on the head when he said, “This plan repeats and includes all of the disdain for science and political trumping of expertise that has characterized previous Bush Administration efforts to dismantle fundamental environmental laws.”

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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