Human Flower Project
Bush Administration Tries to Weaken Endangered Species Act
The Bush administration has announced a plan to “revise” the 30-year-old Endangered Species Act by permitting federal agencies to proceed with projects like highways and dams without consulting environmental scientists and to ignore the impact that any development might have on global warming. Wildlife experts now take part in tens of thousands of reviews annually, explaining how federal work may affect animals and plants on the brink of extinction. There are now 1353 such species in the U.S., including the white firewheel (Gaillardia aestivalis var. winkleri) shown here.
Once the new plan is officially introduced (soon), there will be a 30-day period for public comments, but in fact the drastic change is not subject to Congressional approval; the Interior and Commerce departments are free to pass the new rules if they so choose.
Why would the federal government dismantle the Endangered Species Act when more animals and plants are disappearing every year? According to the AP story, dissolving the requirement for scientific overview will save developers and federal agencies money and time. Further, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said the changes were needed “to ensure that the Endangered Species Act would not be used as a ‘back door’ to regulate the gases blamed for global warming.”
Kempthorne said, “It is not possible to draw a link between greenhouse gas emissions and distant observations of impacts on species.”
Huh? That’s not what this report says, and it analyzed “143 scientific studies involving a total of 1,473 species.” Every one of those studies found “a direct correlation between global warming and biological change somewhere in the world.” Don’t care about wildflowers or polar bears? Then how about human health?
Rare white firewheel (Gaillardia aestivalis var. winkleri), found only in Hardin County, Texas
Photo: Stephen M. Young