Proposed Bush regulatory overhaul of the Endangered Species Act...
... like "asking the fox to guard the chicken coop"
by Don Gordon
During the history of the earth there have been five major extinctions, and scientists at Berkeley reported last week we are in the midst of a sixth extinction event. When this last extinction began is unknown, but it is different from all the others because the evidence strongly suggests that Homo sapiens is the major factor responsible for the loss of species.
Loss of species is occurring across the spectrum of the plant and animal kingdom, but loss of frogs, toads and their relatives serves as an excellent example of the seriousness of the problem. Scientists tell us amphibians have been around for at least 250 million years, but now nearly one-third are threatened and their disappearance is occurring worldwide.
There are multiple causes for their disappearance, but most have the unmistakable footprint of man. For example, in the recent "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences," researchers reported that even in the remote Sierra Nevada, frogs are disappearing. They originally thought the decline was due to the introduction of rainbow trout because these fish consume frog eggs. When the trout were removed, the frog population started to increase, but then started disappearing again. This time, the culprit was a fungus that caused a disease called chytridiomycosis. This fungus is killing amphibians worldwide, and some scientists believe it is the most destructive wildlife disease ever recorded. As remote as it sounds, the spread of this fungus may even be tied to man’s activities.
Global warming and habitat destruction are other major causes of amphibian decline. In addition, pesticides are also taking their toll. Amphibians now serve as the "canary in the coal mine " for evaluating the ecological health of the planet.
Just last week, the report that oxygen-starved dead zones were occurring worldwide served as another barometer of how man is fouling up the planet’s chemistry. A new study reported by Joel Achenbach in the Washington Post indicated that more than 400 "dead zones" have been found. These dead zones have doubled in size about every 10 years, and it is disrupting food chains, killing fish, crabs, shrimp and massive amounts of other marine life.
Nutrient overload, mostly nitrogen runoff from agricultural fields is the main culprit, but it is not fair to blame just farmers. Right here at home, every week I see scores of people mowing their lawns and blowing the grass into roadways. This is illegal, and it may seem harmless, but when it rains the grass often ends up in sewers or ditches which lead directly to the river.
With a population expected to reach 9.2 billion by 2050, it appears that hopes for solving the dead zone problem seems remote. To feed this population, food production will probably have to double. That means even more nutrients flowing to waterways.
It is ironic that in an era where major extinction of species is occurring, the Bush Administration proposed a regulatory overhaul of the Endangered Species Act last week. This would allow federal agencies to decide whether protected species would be imperiled by agency projects. This would eliminate the independent scientific review processes that have been in effect since Congress passed the Endangered Species Act.
Environmentalists are opposed to this regulatory overhaul because the heads of regulatory agencies are political appointees and often do not have adequate scientific expertise. The head of Defenders of Wildlife said the proposal is clearly a case of "asking the fox to guard the chicken coop." Senator Barbara Boxer called the rules change "another in a continuing stream of proposals to repeal our landmark environmental laws through the back door" and added: "I believe it is illegal, and if this proposed regulation had been in place, it would have undermined our ability to protect the bald eagle, the grizzly bear, and the gray whale."
by Don Gordon
During the history of the earth there have been five major extinctions, and scientists at Berkeley reported last week we are in the midst of a sixth extinction event. When this last extinction began is unknown, but it is different from all the others because the evidence strongly suggests that Homo sapiens is the major factor responsible for the loss of species.
Loss of species is occurring across the spectrum of the plant and animal kingdom, but loss of frogs, toads and their relatives serves as an excellent example of the seriousness of the problem. Scientists tell us amphibians have been around for at least 250 million years, but now nearly one-third are threatened and their disappearance is occurring worldwide.
There are multiple causes for their disappearance, but most have the unmistakable footprint of man. For example, in the recent "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences," researchers reported that even in the remote Sierra Nevada, frogs are disappearing. They originally thought the decline was due to the introduction of rainbow trout because these fish consume frog eggs. When the trout were removed, the frog population started to increase, but then started disappearing again. This time, the culprit was a fungus that caused a disease called chytridiomycosis. This fungus is killing amphibians worldwide, and some scientists believe it is the most destructive wildlife disease ever recorded. As remote as it sounds, the spread of this fungus may even be tied to man’s activities.
Global warming and habitat destruction are other major causes of amphibian decline. In addition, pesticides are also taking their toll. Amphibians now serve as the "canary in the coal mine " for evaluating the ecological health of the planet.
Just last week, the report that oxygen-starved dead zones were occurring worldwide served as another barometer of how man is fouling up the planet’s chemistry. A new study reported by Joel Achenbach in the Washington Post indicated that more than 400 "dead zones" have been found. These dead zones have doubled in size about every 10 years, and it is disrupting food chains, killing fish, crabs, shrimp and massive amounts of other marine life.
Nutrient overload, mostly nitrogen runoff from agricultural fields is the main culprit, but it is not fair to blame just farmers. Right here at home, every week I see scores of people mowing their lawns and blowing the grass into roadways. This is illegal, and it may seem harmless, but when it rains the grass often ends up in sewers or ditches which lead directly to the river.
With a population expected to reach 9.2 billion by 2050, it appears that hopes for solving the dead zone problem seems remote. To feed this population, food production will probably have to double. That means even more nutrients flowing to waterways.
It is ironic that in an era where major extinction of species is occurring, the Bush Administration proposed a regulatory overhaul of the Endangered Species Act last week. This would allow federal agencies to decide whether protected species would be imperiled by agency projects. This would eliminate the independent scientific review processes that have been in effect since Congress passed the Endangered Species Act.
Environmentalists are opposed to this regulatory overhaul because the heads of regulatory agencies are political appointees and often do not have adequate scientific expertise. The head of Defenders of Wildlife said the proposal is clearly a case of "asking the fox to guard the chicken coop." Senator Barbara Boxer called the rules change "another in a continuing stream of proposals to repeal our landmark environmental laws through the back door" and added: "I believe it is illegal, and if this proposed regulation had been in place, it would have undermined our ability to protect the bald eagle, the grizzly bear, and the gray whale."
Labels: Endangered Species Act
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