Let's face it, bald eagles, salamanders, owls, herons, minnows, sturgeons and hundreds of other varieties of animals and plants that are on the endangered species list have become a major pain....to big business. These American creatures get in the way of mining operations, clear-cutting forests, mountain top removal and developers looking to profit off the land. What's the problem if a couple of species disappeared so that a few rich people can get richer? That's the reason we voted for George Bush, right? Well thanks to our Pretzeldent, we can look forward to a nice gutting of the Endangered Species Act.
From TPM:
If approved, the changes would represent the biggest overhaul of the Endangered Species Act since 1988. They would accomplish through regulations what conservative Republicans have been unable to achieve in Congress: ending some environmental reviews that developers and other federal agencies blame for delays and cost increases on many projects.
The changes would apply to any project a federal agency would fund, build or authorize. Government wildlife experts currently perform tens of thousands of such reviews each year.
"If adopted, these changes would seriously weaken the safety net of habitat protections that we have relied upon to protect and recover endangered fish, wildlife and plants for the past 35 years," said John Kostyack, executive director of the National Wildlife Federation's Wildlife Conservation and Global Warming initiative.
Oh, are you concerned that we are destroying our national wildlife without any regard for the planet we live on? Wiping out innocent animals and the plants they (including us) eat that maintains a healthy ecosystems isn't your thing? Well don't worry, because the Bush Administration says individual federal agencies can determine on their own if things are copacetic without the Endangered Species Act. You believe them right? Of course George Bush would never lie to you.
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