screw the flora and fauna when there’s money to be made, and BushCo’s™ going all out in it’s waning days to make sure that there will be fewer impediments to it getting made.
chimpy’s decidered that federal agencies shouldn’t be hampered by those pesky, “back door” attempts to use the Endangered Species Act as a cudgel to prevent the harvesting of forests, construction of dams, highways, mines and all sorts of other things that may cause further harm endangered animals and plants. under the new guidelines, released [leaked] yesterday, federal agencies will be allowed to decide for themselves whether construction projects might harm endangered animals and plants.
Under the proposaed rules, the government agencies will no longer be required to consult with independent scientists about the effect of new projects on wildlife.
the administration also contends that these changes don’t require the approval of congress.
more below…
seems this unitary executive theory has gotten out of hand. it’s anyone’s guess at why this is of such import at this twilight juncture of the administration but the administration has couched it thusly……the official rationale:
Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said late Monday 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.
:::
The draft rules would bar federal agencies from assessing the emissions from projects that contribute to global warming and its effect on species and habitats.
“We need to focus our efforts where they will do the most good,” Kempthorne said in a news conference …“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.”
well there you have it, nicely packaged in gibberish, and scientific denial…no mind that rep nick rahall [d w.va], chairman of the house natural resources committee says:
“This proposed rule … gives federal agencies an unacceptable degree of discretion to decide whether or not to comply with the Endangered Species Act…Eleventh-hour rulemakings rarely if ever lead to good government.”
not only do the new regulations follow a pattern by the Bush administration of ignoring input from the scientific community, but according to senator barbara boxer, this proposal may, in fact, be illegal.
“This proposed regulation is another in a continuing stream of proposals to repeal our landmark environmental laws through the back door,” she said. “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”.
another bad idea put into action…161 days and counting.
