Greenies Almost Have a Monopoly on Being Wrong

By Rich Kozlovich

(Editor's Note:  I originally published this on 4/3/12, but all the same issues are at play today as they were then, so I'm republishing this with updates.  RK)

As you read this please keep in mind that we hear over educated under smart people telling us that we are at a tipping point and we must ________(fill in the blank) right now or we will destroy all living things on the Earth. What they want us to do would put mankind back into the most primitive conditions imaginable. Here is an example of their insane thinking.

Bonnie Prince Charles has warned everyone over and over again that we've reached a critical tipping point regarding global warming, and in order to save the planet we must adopt a program that would seriously reduce mankind’s carbon emissions. He then promptly jetted off to spew the same nonsense elsewhere. That "critical tipping point" time has passed, and he keeps flying, and others as loony as he, take up the same cry.  But the great leveler of truth is history and reality, and they show science has been corrupted by a pseudo-pagan green ideology.

Environmentalist in and out of the government want to abandon the Keystone pipeline because of a beetle. Not because we know it will go extinct, it's because we don’t know if it will go extinct. Please read my article, More Coprolite Anyone?

It turns out that those on my side of the argument are now, and always have been…..well..…dare I think it....dare I say it? Yes, I will say it! We were right! Oops, there it is again!  Reality staring everyone in the face.

This appeared on Junkscience.com today. Shocker: Nature Conservancy chief scientist admits ‘data simply do not support the idea of a fragile nature at risk of collapse’

"The eco-fragility trope of Rachel Carson and Al Gore is wrong, says an unlikely source. … The fragility trope dates back, at least, to Rachel Carson, who wrote plaintively in Silent Spring of the delicate web of life and warned that perturbing the intricate balance of nature could have disastrous consequences."

"Al Gore made a similar argument in his 1992 book, Earth in the Balance. And the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment warned darkly that, while the expansion of agriculture and other forms of development have been overwhelmingly positive for the world’s poor, ecosystem degradation was simultaneously putting systems in jeopardy of collapse."

"The trouble for conservation is that the data simply do not support the idea of a fragile nature at risk of collapse. Ecologists now know that the disappearance of one species does not necessarily lead to the extinction of any others, much less all others in the same ecosystem."  

"In many circumstances, the demise of formerly abundant species can be inconsequential to ecosystem function. The American chestnut, once a dominant tree in eastern North America, has been extinguished by a foreign disease, yet the forest ecosystem is surprisingly unaffected. The passenger pigeon, once so abundant that its flocks darkened the sky, went extinct, along with countless other species from the Steller’s sea cow to the dodo, with no catastrophic or even measurable effects."

The fact of the matter is the only people who were sold on this stuff are those who have an agenda and the ignorant. Being ignorant is a legitimate excuse because it means that we simply don't know.

We are all ignorant about an unending number of things. Being unwilling to find out is what makes people stupid. As for those with an agenda; they aren't ignorant, they are corrupt! They have screamed in rage about everything that makes living in an advanced society possible. They claim that modern living deprives everyone of utopia, which they can deliver by forcing everyone to ‘go green'.

Yet, all they have ever delivered is dystopia - disease, squalor, misery, deprivation, suffering and early death.

That's their history! So if they keep promoting things that leave disaster in its wake, we must conclude that absolutely is their agenda!  The greenies hate humanity!  We really do need to get that!

We also need to get this!  Everything we are told should bear some resemblance to what we see going on in reality, and reality shows us over 95% of all species that has ever lived are extinct. Extinction is the rule, not the exception. When species become biologically incompetent the cease to exist! The rest of the world goes on in spite of that.

I have asked repeatedly for someone, anyone, to tell me what terrible ecological disaster occurred when the dodo bird went extinct? There was none. I understood this and I’m just a bug man, so how did these highly educated super smart people miss it?

There is a side bar to this story that fascinates me. The very ones who insist on demanding we must spend any amount of money, and bear any and every conceivable sacrifice necessary to save every species or nature will unravel, are for the most part, neo-Darwinists. Since they believe in the blatantly ridiculous Theory of Evolution - the  survival of the fittest - then shouldn’t they want incompetent species to go extinct in order for species that are better equipped to survive to take their place?

Truth and consistency of thought is a serious problem for these people.  However, there is one consistency the left/green movement embrace.  In order to promote all the things they promote they are required to embrace cognitive dissonance!  Believing in opposing views and  believing they're all correct.   Views that can only be categorized as articles of faith to a neo-pseudo-pagan secular religion! Leftism!  No amount of valid science, history or reality can disabuse them of their positions.

Here's reality we need to embrace!  Scientific integrity has been made an oxymoron by the embrace of leftist/green ideology, in effect making them Lysenkoists. In short, the question we should be asking is this.  Does ideology make smart people dumb, or insane?

David Bernhardt: Cleaning the Augean Stables

By Rich Kozlovich

In days gone by I would just assume everyone had at least heard of the Greek mythological Twelve Labors of Heracles I doubt that’s true today, but to the point.

The fifth task imposed by his cousin King Eurystheus was to clean the stables of Augeas in one day, which were a disaster since these stables housed 3000 oxen, and had never been cleaned, therefore these stables were full of manure. It was believed Hercules would be incapable of doing it in one day so the king agreed to give a tenth of his herd to Heracles but:

“Hercules………tore a big opening in the wall of the cattle-yard where the stables were. Then he made another opening in the wall on the opposite side of the yard.” (Editor's note:  Heracles or Hercules? either is acceptable.  I used what was presented by the authors. RK)  

"Next, he dug wide trenches to two rivers which flowed nearby. He turned the course of the rivers into the yard. The rivers rushed through the stables, flushing them out, and all the mess flowed out the hole in the wall on other side of the yard.”

 Well, the king didn’t like the fact he accomplished this task since now he had to give up a tenth of his herd. Therefore he reneged and demanded more tasks from Heracles because he was paid to do it.

It was a stupid story, and like all the Green myths is filled with irrational paradigms, but the story is instructive in this way: No matter what you do to appease tyrants, it will never be enough.  The greenies and their acolytes in government, just as corrupt King Eurystheus dealt with Heracles, it will never be satisfied. 

On Feb. 12, 2019 Coral Davenport posted this article: Top Leader at Interior Dept. Pushes a Policy Favoring His Former Client saying:

• "David Bernhardt, the agency’s acting chief, wants to roll back endangered-species protections on a tiny fish, a change that benefits few outside a California group he once represented as a lobbyist."

She then goes on to attempt to cast aspersions on Bernhardt’s integrity saying among other things:

• “Because Mr. Bernhardt’s actions would disproportionately benefit one of his former clients, independent ethics specialists said that, under the terms of the Trump administration’s ethics pledge, which Mr. Bernhardt signed, he should not have been given clearance to act. Its “revolving door” provision requires former lobbyists to recuse themselves for two years from any particular matter or specific issue on which they lobbied in the two years before joining the administration.”

So, apparently it was better that former heads of these departments and agencies worked for their clients, the green movement?   Whether they were ever paid by them or not is immaterial. They were philosophical clients.  They were worked unendingly to attain the goals of the activists over and over again as has been shown by the many “Sue and Settle” articles exposing the conspiracy between green activists and bureaucrats at the EPA, the Wildlife Services, and others.  Constantly twisting and turning simple laws into often times insurmountable and irrational regulations, never intended by Congress. 

So I say good for Trump!!!!!

At least now we know there’s someone in there that actually knows what he’s talking about, and knows first-hand the chicanery they adopt and horsepucky greenies spew out to get their way, and how to overcome it.

The ESA has done little to actually save species but it’s been the “go to law” that allows activists and deep state bureaucrats to overturn Constitutional guarantees regarding private property, one of the goals of all socialist movements.

The Endangered Species Act really is doing what it's supposed to do. Halt human progress. Saving species is just the emotional hook, and the Congress that voted on this had the so-called 'romantic' species in mind, and were shocked when the Tennessee Valley dam project came to a screeching halt over the snail darter.

Congress actually had to pass special legislation to overcome this outrage. The ESA gave individuals standing to sue the government over environmental issues, which is now out of control with the EPA actually helping activists sue them in order to get power the legislature didn't deem appropriate to give to them. Now we're saving microscopic shrimp to the detriment of pesticide users, and it's one of the most prolific species on the planet.

Once again, I find Trump’s insights into these irrational, misanthropic and morally defective laws to be amazing, and no politician running for President would have an iota of the courage he’s demonstrated to bring this to a halt.

Kudos to Trump!!!!!!! We need a Herculean figure to clean out the swamp. I hope he can divert a river of wise decisions that does it.

I’ve posted and written extensively about this. You may wish to peruse some of the articles, including that regarding the Delta smelt.

Let’s start with:

Endangered Species Act: Blast from the Past.

By Rich Kozlovich

For the benefit of those who are new to the pest control industry and new to Paradigms and Demographics - or those who just refused to pay attention: Here are some Endangered Species Act articles that give the history on how outrageous this piece of legislation is.  This will explain TVA vs. Hill. which is fundamental to our battle. 

ESA Outrages, Part I Thursday, September 18, 2008 ESA Outrages, Part II Monday, September 22, 2008 ESA Outrages, Part III Saturday, October 18, 2008

Congress needs to step in to end this game of ‘endangered chicken’ once and for all. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is recklessly driving the taxpayers’ truck on a collision course with our economy, food producers, true species steward landowners and taxpayers.

"Let’s hope Congress takes the keys away before more damage is done." - Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, in testimony to the United States House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources.  "It is clear the ESA has been used to accomplish the goals of radicals and those seeking to expand the reach of government,” Staples communicated to the Committee in a prepared statement of testimony.

By Rich Kozlovich

ESA Today August 4, 2012

ESA Today Sunday, July 8, 2012

Endangered Species Act

Thirteen Days of ESA

Green Gold

ESA Outrages, Part I

ESA Outrages, Part II

ESA Outrages, Part III

Then please avail yourself of some of my personal choices.

Donald Trump Stopped Democrats from Killing Alaskans

Trump’s Interior Department seeks to end abuse of migratory bird treaty Act

Endangered Species Act: The Frog That Jumped The Shark

Population Doomster Paul Ehrlich’s New Eco-Scare: ‘Biological Annihilation’

Nipping a legal problem in the bud

Are neonicotinoid insecticide seed treatments endangering wild bees?

The Sue-and-Settle Racket

Preserve the habitat of imaginary woodpecker?

Conservation – not more control

Shades of the Old Soviet Union - "Red" Wolf Acolytes of a Dying Ideology

Federal Permits Will Allow Wind Farms to Kill More Bald Eagles

Forgotten (or Expunged?) History - Wolves

The Cock Crows for Rural America

Court expands ESA protections on climate grounds

Endangered Species Act: Blast From the Past.

By Rich Kozlovich

For the benefit of those who are new to the pest control industry and new to Paradigms and Demographics - or those who just refused to pay attention: Here are some Endangered Species Act articles that give the history on how outrageous this piece of legislation is.  This will explain TVA vs. Hill. which is fundamental to our battle. 

ESA Outrages, Part I Thursday, September 18, 2008
ESA Outrages, Part II Monday, September 22, 2008
ESA Outrages, Part III Saturday, October 18, 2008

Congress needs to step in to end this game of ‘endangered chicken’ once and for all. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is recklessly driving the taxpayers’ truck on a collision course with our economy, food producers, true species steward landowners and taxpayers.

"Let’s hope Congress takes the keys away before more damage is done." - Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, in testimony to the United States House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources.  "It is clear the ESA has been used to accomplish the goals of radicals and those seeking to expand the reach of government,” Staples communicated to the Committee in a prepared statement of testimony.
 

Project: Green Foundations

By Rich Kozlovich

This month I am launching Project: Green Foundations.  I will be linking articles regarding issues that have been foundational to the very existence of the green movement, especially DDT. The ban on DDT was the beginning of their power and their money.  The green movement worldwide takes in more than 60 of the world's nations. 

As you read these articles please pay attention to the all their solutions; ban things that have saved lives; stop things that improve lives; obfuscate reality; use the system to prevent any development of any kind through the courts; but most of all; create a bigger, more intrusive, tyrannical government through regulations that are in direct violation of our Constitutional rights with bureaucrats determining how they are to be enforced.  They are now the Fourth Branch of Government; and they are out of control!

With the help of these government agencies the green movement hopes to accomplish here, and the rest of the world, what they imposed on the third world; dystopia. Green is the serpent in the garden; promising Godless utopia, while delivering hopeless dystopia; and they know it.  They are now the binding force of the world wide socialist movement; whose goal is to establish a worldwide tyrannical Marxist government under the auspices of the United Nations.   

I will be focusing on DDT, Clean Water Act, the Clear Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, alternative energy, global warming and two of the most insidious greenie schemes of all; Sustainable Development and Agenda 21!

Initially I intend to just add linked articles that are both pro and con. Later I will state adding my own comments. At this point I just wish to make everyone aware of the overwhelming amount of misinformation that is touted daily.

Project: Endangered Species Act

Feds set aside 50635 acres to protect endangered Colorado flowers
Denver Post
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that two Colorado wildflowers found only on and around the Roan Plateau and South Shale Ridge now have threatened status under the Endangered Species Act. They include Parachute penstemon, also known as ...

Steller sea lion dies at Conn.'s Mystic Aquarium
Boston.com
At 2000 pounds, he was a tremendous ambassador to his species and a favorite among Mystic Aquarium guests for his size and exuberant personality. Steller sea lions are protected under the Endangered Species Act. end of story marker. © Copyright 2012 ...

Environmental Law Institute Discusses Protecting Endangered Sea Life
C-SPAN
The Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act require compliance in 3 million square miles of ocean in U.S. waters, and the use of trade barriers to protect species in international waters. Panelists included: Tracy Dunn, Acting ..

Groups sue to block logging of marbled murrelet habitat in Washington
KING5.com
The suit, filed July 27, charges that the Interior Department violated the Endangered Species Act when it approved the logging plan submitted by the Washington Department of Natural Resources "without notifying the public, without inviting public ..

Canada Lynx kitten makes debut at Minn. Zoo
Post-Bulletin
... should eventually grow to almost 29 pounds. Canada lynx have dense silvery-brown coats, ruffed faces and tufted ears. They are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The new kitten is the second lynx birth at the zoo in the past two ...

Rare Rattlesnake Advances towards Protection under the Endangered
Rare Rattlesnake Advances towards Protection under the Endangered Species Act. Desert Massasauga Rattlesnake Threatened by Habitat Loss, Human ....

Endangered Species Act

By Rich Kozlovich

One of the things we need to understand is that when this was first proposed and voted on by the Congress there was little discussion and few negative attitudes about ESA. Most had 'romantic' species such as elk, buffalo and the bald eagle in mind. However the stories about the deliberate decimation of the buffalo and the passenger pigeon were clearly on their minds and they wanted to stop people from deliberately destroying species. They never had a clue what was really behind the ESA. The greenies did.

Please review my articles, ESA Outrages, Part 1, ESA Outrages, Part 2 and ESA Outrages, Part 3.

If this is to be fixed the ESA must be repealed and they have to start over again. Amendments to this act is like putting a coat of paint on a rotten house and expecting it to be fixed.

Endangered Species Act a federal land grab?

Calling the Endangered Species Act abused by activists and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, in testimony to the United States House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources this week, warned that such abuse threatens the economy and the rights of rural land holders.

The committee is holding an oversight hearing, titled “Taxpayer-Funded Litigation: Benefitting Lawyers and Harming Species, Jobs and Schools,” which is examining how litigious groups use the Endangered Species Act and other federal laws to hinder species recovery, jobs and education.

“It is clear the ESA has been used to accomplish the goals of radicals and those seeking to expand the reach of government,” Staples communicated to the Committee in a prepared statement of testimony. “Congress needs to step in to end this game of ‘endangered chicken’ once and for all. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is recklessly driving the taxpayers’ truck on a collision course with our economy, food producers, true species steward landowners and taxpayers. Let’s hope Congress takes the keys away before more damage is done.”

Habitat for Salamanders, and Texans,
By Cong. John Carter

Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN, Texas – When Congress created the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973, it was with noble goals in mind. We wanted to save and restore our populations of eagles, bison & other species that were in danger of extinction. But in recent years we have seen the ESA hijacked by special-interest groups using the courts to impose a radical anti-development, preservationist agenda on the nation.

This agenda is not about saving species. It is about gradually blocking future economic development and suburban growth, and using the ESA to effectively seize control of private land.

In May 2011 USFWS signed a settlement agreement to a lawsuit filed by a group called WildEarth Guardians which forces USFWS to make endangered species determinations on at least 251 species over the next six years.

Texas Comptroller Urges Amendment to the Federal Endangered Species Act

Texas Comptroller Susan Combs today urged a federal committee on Natural Resources to amend the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and she provided recommendations to make the process more science-based, cost effective and transparent. In comments submitted to the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources Oversight Hearing, Combs said excessive ESA litigation can increase regulatory uncertainty for many entities such as private landowners and businesses. In this economy, putting jobs at risk without science is irresponsible, Combs said.

“We continue to reiterate that sound peer-reviewed science must be used in all listing decisions, and conservation efforts should be implemented, if necessary, in close coordination with impacted stakeholders,” Combs said to the oversight hearing which was titled, “Taxpayer-Funded Litigation: Benefitting Lawyers and Harming Species, Jobs and Schools.”


Press Release

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo) is scheduled to testify before the House Natural Resources Committee, Tuesday, during the panel’s hearing entitled, “Taxpayer-Funded Litigation: Benefiting Lawyers and Harming Species, Jobs and Schools” The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is supposed to be the nation’s preeminent law for the conservation and protection of threatened plant and animal species. Unfortunately, over its lifetime, the ESA has had only a 1% success rate. Tuesday’s hearing is to analyze the extent to which litigation has helped or hindered the success of ESA.

Rep. Lummis will lend her expertise, gained through research for her legislation the Government Litigation and Savings Act (GLSA), to Tuesday’s panel. GLSA, which passed the House Judiciary Committee this past November, closes a loop hole in the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA). Originally intended as a social safety net program that allows for the reimbursement of attorney’s fees to seniors, veterans and small businesses when wronged by the federal government, in recent years litigious environmental groups have accessed tax-payer funded EAJA payments despite the clear intent of Congress.

GLSA closes this loophole, and strengthens EAJA reimbursements to the seniors, veterans and small business owners it was always intended to serve. “Both the ESA and EAJA were created for the right reasons but both have gone wrong over time,” Rep. Lummis said. “I am grateful that the Chairman Hastings is taking on the monumental task, and am eager to be helpful in modernizing the ESA while ensuring that EAJA is restored to its original intent.”

###

Greenies Almost Have a Monopoly on Being Wrong

By Rich Kozlovich

As you read this please keep in mind that we hear over educated under smart people telling us that we are at a tipping point and we must ________(fill in the blank) right now or we will destroy all living things on the Earth. What they want us to do would put mankind back into the most primitive conditions imaginable. Here is an example of their insane thinking.

Bonnie Prince Charlie has warned everyone over and over again that we reached a critical tipping point regarding global warming and we must adopt a program that would seriously reduce mankind’s carbon emissions. He then promptly jetted off to spew the same nonsense elsewhere. That time has passed and he keeps flying….and others take up the same cry, and history and reality shows it is all scientific corruption promoting green ideology.

We have now abandoned the Keystone pipeline because of a beetle. Not because we know it will go extinct; it is because we don’t’ know if it will go extinct. Please read my article, More Coprolite Anyone?

It turns out that those on my side of the argument are now, and always have been…..well..…dare I think it....dare I say it? I will say it! They were…..Right! Oops…there it is; reality staring everyone in the face.

This appeared on Junkscience.com today. Shocker: Nature Conservancy chief scientist admits ‘data simply do not support the idea of a fragile nature at risk of collapse’

"The eco-fragility trope of Rachel Carson and Al Gore is wrong, says an unlikely source. … The fragility trope dates back, at least, to Rachel Carson, who wrote plaintively in Silent Spring of the delicate web of life and warned that perturbing the intricate balance of nature could have disastrous consequences. Al Gore made a similar argument in his 1992 book, Earth in the Balance. And the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment warned darkly that, while the expansion of agriculture and other forms of development have been overwhelmingly positive for the world’s poor, ecosystem degradation was simultaneously putting systems in jeopardy of collapse.

The trouble for conservation is that the data simply do not support the idea of a fragile nature at risk of collapse. Ecologists now know that the disappearance of one species does not necessarily lead to the extinction of any others, much less all others in the same ecosystem. In many circumstances, the demise of formerly abundant species can be inconsequential to ecosystem function. The American chestnut, once a dominant tree in eastern North America, has been extinguished by a foreign disease, yet the forest ecosystem is surprisingly unaffected. The passenger pigeon, once so abundant that its flocks darkened the sky, went extinct, along with countless other species from the Steller’s sea cow to the dodo, with no catastrophic or even measurable effects."

The fact of the matter is the only people who were sold on this stuff are those who have an agenda and the ignorant. Being ignorant is a legitimate excuse because it means that we simply don't know. We are all ignorant about an unending number of things. Being unwilling to find out is what makes people stupid. As for those with an agenda; they aren't ignorant, they are corrupt! They have screamed in rage about everything that makes living in an advanced society possible. They claim that modern living deprives everyone of utopia, which they can deliver by forcing everyone to ‘go green'. Yet, all they have ever delivered is dystopia.

That'ss their history! So if they keep promoting things that leave disaster in its wake, we must conclude that absolutely is their agenda!  The greenies hate humanity...we really do need to get that!

We need to get this! Everything we are told should bear some resemblance to what we see going on in reality; and reality shows that over 95% of all species that has ever lived are extinct. Extinction is the rule, not the exception. When species become biologically incompetent the cease to exist! The rest of the world goes on in spite of that. I have asked repeatedly; what terrible ecological disaster occurred when the dodo bird went extinct? There was none. I understood this and I’m just a bug man; so how did these highly educated super smart people miss it?

There is a side bar to this story that has always fascinated me. The very ones that insist on demanding that we must spend any amount of money and bear any and every sacrifice necessary to save every species or nature will unravel are for the most part neo-Darwinists. Shouldn’t they want incompetent species to go extinct in order for species that are better equipped to survive to take their place? Is this possibly a case of cognitive dissonance?

The reality is that scientific integrity is an oxymoron because ideology really does make smart people dumb!

###

The Warmers and the Wilders?

By Rich Kozlovich

As I have been watching this Global Warming farce play out I have come to notice that the Green Movement has become broken down into two main categories. Warmers and Wilders.

Warmers are those who subscribe to all the fantacy that is part and parcel of Anthropogenic Climate Change. They demand dramatic changes from industrialized societies because they claim the world is at a tipping point to disaster if we don’t stop putting CO2 in the atmosphere. As David Hansen claimed in his book, “Storms of My Grandchildren” that we were facing a "sweltering Earth devoid of life”.

All of this in spite of the fact that CO2 is a naturally occurring gas that is a good thing for plants and animals, of which mankind’s total contribution is insignificant to the overall volume, especially when compared to one volcanic eruption.

Wilders is my term for those who insist that more land be devoted to wildlife, especially wildlife that may be endangered. This includes animals and plants. They believe, irrationally, that every species must be saved at any cost in order for life to continue to exist. These modern Druids would have us believe that all life is so interconnected that the loss of one species would cause overwhelming disaster. History of course shows that this is blatant nonsense because over 95% of all species that has ever lived has gone extinct.

What I find fascinating about this is that many of these people are Darwinian evolutionists and supposedly believe in survival of the fittest. Why then do they attempt to save species that are clearly biologically incompetent?  Is it possible they are holding two diametrically opposing views in their heads at the same time and believe that both are correct?

Thomas Sowell once said that there were three questions that must be answered by those who demand change.

1. Compared to what?
2. At what cost?
3. What hard evidence do you have?

I don’t think that those are unreasonable questions since most of what the greenies promote is unworkable, expensive and has serious problems with the facts. Let’s take a few examples.

The greenies had always been against nuclear power. Then, when this CO2 issue came up regarding Anthropogenic Global Warming there were some who changed their views and decided that nuclear was acceptable to save the planet. They were promptly vilified by the rest of the green community.  At this point the wilders and the warmers decided to agree that nuclear was still evil.

Previously the greenies touted the idea that everything should be changed from nuclear, coal and oil based energy sources to natural gas. However the warmers decided that natural gas is bad because it emits CO2 into the atmosphere. So now they are all on board with the idea that nuclear, coal, oil and natural gas energy based sources are evil.

What about hydroelectric? No exhausts, no pollution of any kind! Good, right! Yes, if you are a warmer. But not if you are a wilder! You see hydroelectric alters the natural flow of rivers and changes the environment for so many fish and plants. So hydroelectric is out too.

All the greenies were absolutely in love with bio-fuels at one time. An all natural energy source! The warmers think it is the cat’s pajamas. However, the wilders are against it because they have discovered that everything their adversaries have been saying right along is right. Bio-fuel from food is driving up the price of food worldwide.

As a result more and more land mass is being devoted to growing corn and other commodities thereby eliminating forest areas for wild animals. So then we have another conflict between the warmers and the wilders! The wilders have also pointed out that forests are being stripped around the world to provide organic material for cellulose based fuels. So now the wilders want the government subsidies stopped for biomass fuel production, and without those subsidies biomass cannot exist.

Wind energy is one of the most beloved sources of energy by the warmers. However the wilders point out that these gigantic fans are killing birds and bats at such an alarming rate that wind energy is wreaking havoc with those populations, including endangered species…..and in large numbers. If a small fraction of that number was killed by any traditional energy program they would be put out of business by the federal government under the Endangered Species Act.

Solar energy has been one of the great promotions of the green movement. Only it takes untold acres to supply the nation with the needed energy to live our lives in the manner we have become accustomed. The warmers are willing to do this, but the wilders point out that this amount of acreage will disrupt way too much habitat, which will affect wildlife and of course, way too many tortoise, some of whom are endangered.

Something that isn’t mentioned nearly enough is that even if the world changed from traditional sources of energy, i.e., power plants, to solar and/or wind we would still have to build and maintain traditional power plants as a back-up. You see, the wind doesn’t always blow and the sun doesn’t always shine. That means we will be paying for energy we don’t use in order to pay for energy we don’t need.

The greenies are against every know source of energy production known to mankind, so here is my question; what are their answers to Sowell's three questiongs?

Q. As opposed to what?
A. They are offering nothing that is better than what we have, and what they are offering is opposed by many in their own camp.
Q. How much will it cost?
A. The financial costs are completely unsustainable and the social costs are morally unsustainable.
Q. What hard evidence do you have?
A. Everything they tout ends up being so full of holes that for all practical purposes their "evidence" is a lie.

Tell me; how long should we have wait for them to come up with a viable solution to any of these imaginary issues they are constantly caterwauling about? How long before we come to the realization that the green movement is terrific at finding fault, but they don't have a clue when it comes to finding solutions? How long will it take for us to realize that all these modern advances they decry has been wonderful for humanity? How long before we realize that everything they offer as solutions has left dystopia in its wake?

These shouldn’t be difficult questions for the most casual observer. Their misanthropic history should make the answer to these questions axiomatic.

Observations From the Back Row: 9-6-11

...
“De Omnibus Dubitandum”

Video with John Stossel and Richard Tren regarding DDT

Everything we are told should bear some resemblance to what we see going on in reality!
______________________________________

Thought For The Day

By Rich Kozlovich

Recently I linked an article about the efforts of activists in and out of government who want to stop the construction of a pipeline from Canada that would carry a substantial amount of crude oil into the country. Normal people would consider this to be a good thing. But of course that explains why the activists are against it claiming it will cause the potential demise of some beetle. One of the statements used by the bureaucrats at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was that their decision was "based on science and not of policy".

Three things! First, they admitted that they didn’t really know what was causing this particular beetle’s slow demise. Second; their statement that this decision was based on science and not on policy makes me wonder why they would say that because how can policy be based on something else; and if so what that something else might be. Third; this statement reminded me of something Margaret Thatcher one said:

“Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't.”

So if this decision was really based on science they shouldn’t have had to tell anyone; it should have been obvious. If it isn’t, then shouting it from the roof tops won’t help explain the stench of bad policy based on ideology.

Re-examine assumptions behind desal project

Part 1 of this piece Sunday compared the cost of the Regional Desalination Project with the cost, in current dollars, of the New Los Padres Dam that was planned, but not built, 20 years ago.  The estimated construction cost for the desal project is $197 million more than for the dam, and annual operations and maintenance costs would be $8 million greater for the desal project. Under these circumstances, why in the world would we want to build the Regional Desalination Project?   That decision was based on the assumption that the dam could never be approved because of its adverse impact on the steelhead trout and California red-legged frog, threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act. The dam would increase water flow below the dam, but it would block the steelhead migration to and from the steelhead spawning area above.

Kangaroo rat might detour San Bernardino street

A furry little roadblock may stall the city's plans to extend State Street. And the 1.5-mile project to link the 210 Freeway to Fifth Street on the Westside could cost millions more because the federally protected San Bernardino kangaroo rat has been spotted in the area. "We could be really high (in) mitigation costs, depending on how much habitat we're impacting," City Engineer Robert Eisenbeisz said. The city has $2 million - mostly through Measure I funding, a half-cent sales tax passed by county voters in 1989 - allocated for environmental and design work, but the project may balloon to $40 million, with as much as $18 million going toward mitigating damage to the kangaroo rats' habitat. At the same time, Eisenbeisz said mitigation work could cost as little as $3 million to $5 million.

Feds help rescue endangered butterfly species

Money will protect Yamhill County habitat for Fender's blue. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is coming to the rescue of the Fender’s Blue butterfly, an endangered species once thought to be extinct. The federal agency, which administers the Endangered Species Act, provided two grants totaling $767,000 to protect the butterfly’s habitat in Yamhill County. One grant provides $500,000 to acquire a permanent conservation easement on 284.6 acres of habitat in the Mount Richmond Conservation Opportunity Area, to benefit the Fender’s blue butterfly and the flower where it spends much of its life, the Kincaid’s lupine. The easement also will protect the Nelson’s checkermallow.

My Take - If the easement is 1/2 million dollars how much would the land sell for?   How much will it sell for after this easement.  Of course this merely allows for that amount to be spent, it doesn't mean anyone will actually get that kind of money.  Please follow the link on conservation easements.  You have all the obligations and no privileges, and in this case even if you sell it the new owners are stuck with it; which can really make it difficult to sell.  Of course you can just give it to the government if you prefer; I'm sure that is what they prefer.  There are some who seek to preserve their property after they are gone so they agree to such things, but these things aren't really as voluntary as it sounds in many cases.  It has been pointed out that in many cases this has merely been a way of depriving people of their rights. 

State-Based Environmental Programs: A Better Way Than EPA

By Dr. Jy Lehr

Federal and state legislators have recently been focusing on eliminating duplication of government programs that could be combined or eliminated to save billions of taxpayer dollars. Yet the elimination of one colossal duplication could save billions of dollars but has not been mentioned: Essentially all of the work done by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is duplicated and in fact done far better by the collective wisdom of our 50 state environmental protection agencies….. EPA has become a wholly owned subsidiary of environmental advocacy groups and serves primarily as an obstacle course for economic growth…. Today these research laboratories too often do the bidding of overaggressive regulators merely seeking to cherry pick data to support their predisposition to regulate…..

It has become quite apparent that EPA is no longer acting for the benefit of society in general. It was a great idea in 1971, but the agency bears no resemblance to that fine organization of long ago. The current Congress is looking to make changes. This is a good place to start.

Electric motor made from a single molecule

The butyl methyl sulphide molecule whips round an axis defined by its single sulphur atom. Researchers have created the smallest electric motor ever devised. The motor, made from a single molecule just a billionth of a metre across, is reported in Nature Nanotechnology. The minuscule motor could have applications in both nanotechnology and in medicine, where tiny amounts of work can be put to efficient use. Tiny rotors based on single molecules have been shown before, but this is the first that can be individually driven by an electric current.

My Take - The Luddite greenies are against nano-technology. 

"The time has come," the Walrus said,

"To talk of many things:

Of shoes, and ships, and sealing wax -

Of cabbages and kings,

And why the sea is boiling hot,

And whether pigs have wings."

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More Coprolite Anyone?

By Rich Kozlovich

Yesterday I linked an article about Daryl Hannah being arrested for protesting the Keystone XL pipeline delivering crude oil from Canada. Now we find that the radicals on the government’s payroll in the State Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Oceans have taken up this issue because of some endangered beetle, apparently as a way of stopping this pipeline. But take hope…..they have an 81 page ‘recovery plan’ for this beetle.

Interestingly, the cause of this beetle’s decline isn't clearly understood, and yet they could still come up with an 81 page ‘recovery plan’. How can anyone possibly develop a ‘recovery’ plan without that basic piece of information? For all they know their ‘plan’ could kill the rest off if they don’t know what is causing the decline in the first place.

That’s just like medieval doctors telling everyone how to cure the Black Death when they didn’t have a clue as to what it was or how it was contracted. I bet they had whole books on the subject. And they have the chutspah to claim that this decision is a "scientific" decision and not a "policy" decision. 

George Washington’s doctors decided he had a serious case of quinsy, which means “to strangle a dog” in Greek. They used really creative verbiage in those days, and did so probably because they didn’t have clue about what they were talking about.  But they needed to sound like they really knew what they were talking about.

Their treatments included burning the back of his neck, bleeding him of five pints of blood (the average person only has about 10 pints), and feeding him some kind of mercury compound as a purgative. 

And all of this was for a serious sore throat, but whether this was serious and life threatening or not, would any of this voodoo medicine helped? No, and in fact, I think it is perfectly reasonable to believe that every bit of this witch doctoring hastened his demise at the age of 67!

Allegedly he even asked them to bleed him the last time and thanked them for their efforts. Why? Because they were "educated professionals". “Eventually Washington ordered his doctors to cease their barbarisms and let him go in peace”. Among his final words were; “Doctor, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go” At this point he was probably in so much misery he couldn’t wait to go.

When you don’t know what you are dealing with how can you come up with an 81 page recovery plan?   And if you don’t know what you are dealing with how do you know that you aren’t making the problem worse and hastening their demise?   And is it reasonable that all economic activity should be stopped until they do know what they are talking about? All this for a beetle!

At this point I think it is resonable to question the "science" versus "policy" aspect of this decision.  At this point I think it would be interesting to recap the Word of the Day from August 26. Coprolite - Fossilized excrement.

ESA Observations

...

Must Read Article - Enviros 'helped' wolf lose protection

Yet the pro-wolf lawsuits have ended in a colossal strategic failure: Congress has just brushed them aside and passed a bipartisan measure that strips Endangered Species Act protections from most northern Rockies wolves, effective May 5. ... The lawsuit-oriented groups shrugged off any experts who disagreed with their own experts - including Valerius Geist, a widely respected researcher and author who is also a professor emeritus of wildlife biology at the University of Alberta in Calgary. Geist reveres the North American Model of Conservation, a concept dating back to 1842 that prevents private ownership of wildlife while allowing hunting and fishing within the boundaries of laws set, mostly, by the states. It has been, arguably, the most effective wildlife conservation and restoration model in the world.

Geist told me in 2000, while I was researching a story for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation's Bugle magazine, that wolf reintroduction was "a bad idea……..

Environmentalists have an idealistic vision that there is a balance of nature that can be achieved. What you will actually see is quite a depletion in your big-game (herds)." Geist thinks that "those dickybird fellows" - as he calls most environmentalists - do not really care whether the wolves reduce opportunity for big-game hunters, even though the special taxes hunters pay on firearms and their hunting-license fees basically paid for restoring the elk that allowed the wolf recovery: "The enviros have taken a free ride on the money provided by hunters, and they have never paid their share of wildlife costs."…… (As usual, the greenies and the lefties never have to pay for their actions! It is always up to others to pay for their schemes, not to mention that fact that it is everyone else who pay the penalty for their being wrong. RK)

Terri Tew, who with her husband, Tim, manages the LF Ranch near Augusta, Mont., - known for its wildlife and tolerance of predators - once told me, "We're not always sure why we should go through all this with losing calves and staying up all night, just so somebody from back East can come out here for a week and listen to a wolf howl." Kathy Konen of Dillon, Mont., probably felt the same way when she arrived in her family's sheep pasture on private land to find that wolves had killed 120 rams in one night in August 2009. Some ranchers lost priceless breeding stock they'd built up through generations of careful genetic management……

As a horde of Western politicians harnessed the anti-wolf fury, determined to get Congress to intervene, 10 of the groups involved in the fatal lawsuit panicked. Suddenly, they sought to compromise, offering a "settlement" that resembled the partial delisting they had previously sued against. There was no chance Judge Molloy would accept the settlement, because it still enforced the federal law differently in different states and four of the plaintiffs refused to sign it. It was political theater, and Molloy rejected it on April 9.

Within a few days, Congress approved a bipartisan measure - a rider attached to a budget bill with no real debate - that more or less carried out the previous Bush and Obama plans to delist wolf populations in Montana, Idaho, and portions of Utah, Washington and Oregon, while maintaining federal control in Wyoming. The measure also said that the decision cannot be challenged by lawsuits. President Obama signed it, and it was finalized in the Federal Register on May 5. Defenders of Wildlife warns: "This unprecedented action marks the first time in the history of the Endangered Species Act that protections for a specific species will be revoked by Congress. (It) paves the way for other bills that undermine the scientific principles of the Endangered Species Act and put countless other species at risk at the whim of politicians."…… (Is that versus the whim of greenies and judges who are clueless about the concept of separation of powers? RK)

Meanwhile, three Western environmental groups --Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Friends of the Clearwater and WildEarth Guardians - are already suing the feds over the May 5 delisting of most Northern Rockies wolves, charging that it's unconstitutional for Congress to override a judge's ruling. A fourth group that also thrives in court, the Center for Biological Diversity, has filed a separate lawsuit along the same lines. (It would appear that the left really doesn’t understand the simple language of the Constitution. Congress determines the jurisdiction of the courts. It is the job of Congress t pass the laws that the courts are supposed to follow….not the other way around. Although I know that hasn’t been obvious for many years. RK)

Federal wildlife officials passs on more Utah prairie dog protections
Federal wildlife officials on Monday said the Utah prairie dog doesn't warrant stronger protections under the US Endangered Species Act. While state officials praised the decision by the US Fish and Wildlife Service because they say ...

Groups sue Army Corps of Engineers over levee tree-removal policy
The plaintiffs allege the Army Corps policy violates the Endangered Species Act, because the agency did not consult with federal wildlife agencies; and the National Environmental Policy Act, because it didn't prepare an environmental study. ... ..But after Hurricane Katrina, which destroyed numerous levees in New Orleans in 2005, the Corps decided to impose uniform standards nationwide. Failure to comply would make local agencies ineligible for federal funds to recover from flood damage. The Corps argues that trees can blow over in storms, potentially ripping out levee sections. It also says roots provide a path for water to seep through levees. But it offers little scientific evidence for those conclusions.

My Take – Two things. This whole idea of one size fits all is stupid, and if they stop paying people to live in flood plains this problem will go away because they will fix this themselves in some way or the other. The other thing that fascinates me is the idea that you have to show “scientific evidence” that wind will blow trees over and ruin levees, and that roots will allow seepage. Well….duh….why would anyone need “scientific” evidence of that? I would think that a little basic observation of reality would be enough. As for tree roots holding the levee in place; did anyone ever see documentaries showing what happens when massive amounts of water surge through an area? The trees go down, roots and all, taking tons of dirt with them. I mean….just a guess mind you…..but isn’t that why they build levees where they do; because massive amounts of water comes pouring through that area somewhat regularly?

No Endangered Species Designation for Gila Monster
The US Fish and Wildlife Service announced Monday that a petition seeking to protect the Utah population of the Gila monster under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) does not contain substantial scientific information to ...

Look Out for Piping Plovers and Least Terns on the Beach
The North Fork Audubon Society continues to protect piping plovers and least terns — both still endangered species that nest on beaches. By Connie Gillies | Email the author | June 20, 2011 The North Fork once again is home to nesting piping plovers ...

Las Cruces Utilities protects burrowing owls
Some species even have additional protection under federal laws such as Endangered Species Act or under state laws. Even though burrowing owls are not listed as "endangered," they are still a "Species of Concern" according to the US Fish & Wildlife ...

Thousands of Gulf Sea Turtles Killed by Shrimp Trawls
Each of the six sea turtle species found in US waters is listed as either endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act, which means that they may go extinct in the foreseeable future. But did you know that under the Endangered Species Act, ...

Shrimpers await reaction to lawsuit
The groups sent a joint letter to federal and state officials in May announcing their intent to sue under the Endangered Species Act “for actions and inactions related to the management and regulation of the shrimp-trawl fishery that have resulted in ...

Arlington thoroughfare plan, dunes sagebrush lizard, Perry's texting veto
There's a good reason for the Endangered Species Act: so that decisions related to the protection of such species are not left to politicians, industries and other such biased parties. All too often, however, protection of endangered species falls to ...

Final Thoughts

I have always been in a quandary over all of this. I am opposed to placing non-human things over humans. I am also opposed to wholesale wanton eradication of animals. I am also opposed to the irrational idea that every species is absolutely necessary for the survival of all other things, since over 95 percent of all species that has ever lived has gone extinct, and 100 percent of every species alive today will go extinct eventually. I am also opposed to the concept of "pristine" environments. The greenies want preservation, yet conservation is what works, and they are against it. Why? Because conservation is a use based concept.

I also am thoroughly convinced that the ESA is less about saving animals and plants than about eliminating private property rights and controlling the population. The green movement is the step child of socialism; it is also the spear point; and the ESA is the tip of that spear point. There will be no compromise with these people that they will adhere to. As you read the articles you find that they hate each other as much as they hate everyone else. It seems to me that it would be reasonable to revise the ESA, except for one thing. There is no trusting the other side. So how can the ESA be fixed in some other way than to eliminate it? I don’t believe there is one.

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Thirteen Days of ESA

By Rich Kozlovich

These aren’t the only articles that have appeared in the last 13 days; in fact….this is merely a tip of the iceberg. I am listing all of this stuff to make everyone aware as to how pervasive, intrusive and irrational this stuff is, and this is only a few that have appeared in the last 13 days.

I have tried to organize them somewhat based on subject. Also, I have not listed stuff about wolves, blue fin tuna and salmon….which I have linked a lot in the past. I would like to point out some things I have stated in the past. Over 95 percent of all species that have ever lived have gone extinct. Every species alive today will eventually go extinct. Life on this planet apparently does not require that every species survive for life to continue. Habitats and eco-systems are always changing and those species that are so biologically incompetent that they cannot survive except in a very exclusive environment deserve to go extinct. I have no desire to deliberately eliminate any species, but I also don’t wish to place the needs of plants and animals over the needs of humanity.

Here is the crux of the issue. Was the Earth created for mankind or is mankind just another biological organism created by the Earth and merits no special consideration? From my perspective, I don’t care either way….I am pulling for mankind because mankind can explore, mankind can think beyond his own immediate needs, mankind can search out information and plan future endeavors. Mankind can conserve as well as conceive. Mankind has insights that become reality and ideas that make the world a better place to live. Mankind can save the whales, but the whales can’t even save themselves. Do we wish to save the whales….I’m ok with that, but not just because they exist. I am all for conservation for future and continued use. The greenies are for preservation in an attempt to eliminate any use whatsoever. They want pristine! What does that mean? Basically….it means untouched by man. That is irrational. If mankind can’t alter his environment mankind can’t survive….and the greenies know this.

Are there acts of selfishness and unjustifiable cruelty?  Of course!  All of the wars we have fought throughout history is testimony to the level of stupidity mankind is capable of heaping on himself, and the ESA is another one.  The fact of the matter is that mankind can and has acted to the best interests of society and the environment over the long haul, and personal property rights have played an important role because people take care of what is theirs. And to give them their due, in the early years the environmental movement played an important role in this undertaking, at least until they all became socialists attempting to eliminate personal and property rights. The best areas of the world where environmental concern has been translated into action has been the most advanced and developed areas of the world. Why? Because they can afford it! The least developed are too poor to concern themselves with environmental issues because they are just trying to survive.

Striped Newt a Candidate for Listing under the Endangered Species Act
WCTV
These agreements can be developed to provide regulatory certainty for landowners should the species become listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Service will review the progress and status of the species annually, as it does with all ...

Taxpayers Pay People to Sue the US
For example, Lummis says, the Dept. of the Interior must answer petitions to list species as protected wildlife. The Interior Department must respond within 90 days to petitions to list species under the Endangered Species Act. If they don't, ...

More on environmental litigation factories: "Taxpayer-funded job security"
The settlement between the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and WildEarth Guardians could open the flood gates of new listings under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The amount of radical environmental litigation in the United States is staggering ...

My Take - We need to get this! Big Green is Big Business!

Record fine for illegal land clearing
"Scientists evaluating the impact of the clearing have warned a number of threatened or endangered species may have lost key habitat, making them even more vulnerable. "This is exactly why our government introduced tough vegetation management laws - to ...

Habitat Protection to Increase for Nebraska's Vanishing Salt Creek Tiger Beetle
Center for Biological Diversity (press release)
On Oct. 6, 2005, the Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Salt Creek tiger beetle as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Only three small populations of the beetle remain within a single drainage — Little Salt Creek — near Lincoln, Neb. ... “The Salt Creek tiger beetle needs extensive critical habitat protection to survive,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “There’s just no way to recover species like this beetle without protecting their homes.”

Puerto Rican groups work to save the tinglar, the leatherback sea turtle
Do you think that enough is being done around the world to protect endangered species? Yes, there are many effective programs already in place. No, more needs to be done to protect these animals. Four times a week for the past decade, ...

Pumps' fish slaughter alarms conservationists
The killings are also renewing calls to relist the splittail - a native California species in the minnow family - as officially threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In addition to the splittail, the pumps have killed tens of thousands of ..

Snow, rain and regulatory drought
Most of the regulatory restrictions are part of a misguided federal scheme to help fish on the Endangered Species Act list. Cutbacks in water pumping from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California were based on ...

California water wars: DOI's pumping cutbacks prompt lawsuit
But that species has not been listed under the Endangered Species Act. And other federal fisheries experts have repeatedly pointed out that the recent increase in the number of fish taken at the pumps simply reflect a large, healthy increase in fish ..

Fresh Water Snails Get More Critical Habitat
The Roswell springsnail, the Koster's springsnail, Noel's amphipod and the Pecos assiminea were listed under the Endangered Species Act by the agency in August 2005. The four species now have 521 acres designated a critical habitat in Chaves County, ...

30 bird species from state fly into endangered list
Experts are worried that almost a whooping 1253 bird species that amounts to nearly 13% of the total number are threatened. "It is an indication that we need to act now, before they become extinct," said Jathar. The IUCN Red List evaluation considers ...

Biologists Use the Web to Save Amphibians
The mountain yellow-legged frog is just one species among many that has teetered on the brink of extinction. An amphibian local to the southland, it is listed on the Federal Endangered Species Act. Once abundant in southern California streams, ...

Deschutes reintroduced steelhead could get special designation
The reintroduction of juvenile sea-run rainbow trout to the upper Deschutes River is an effort to help recover middle Columbia River steelhead, which since 1999 have been listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act throughout the ...

Endangered Wild Mint Will Become Two Separate Species
The willowy monardella will retain the endangered status granted to the species under the Endangered Species Act in 1973, while the new species will not be protected under the act because it is more widespread than previously thought. ...

Judge rules that US Fish and Wildlife acted "capriciously" in claiming threats ...
Yesterday, US District Court judge Walker D. Miller sided with conservation groups and ordered the US Interior Department to reconsider a decision denying Endangered Species Act protection to a wildflower found only in parts of Utah and ...

REGION: SB County solar project gets go-ahead
The company is capturing all tortoises found at the site for relocation, but critics of allowing the work to proceed say the Endangered Species Act is not being used as it should. Last year, using the company' surveys, the wildlife service estimated

Sturgeon: Should they be listed under the Endangered Species Act?
Conservation groups want the fish listed under the Endangered Species Act. But researchers and multiple state agencies oppose the effort. They favor a less strict designation, which

Federal legislation pits environment vs. security
It lists nearly three dozen laws that would be waived along the border, including the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Wilderness Act. It would also allow the federal government to waive those laws within a ...

Feds considering comments on proposed E. Idaho phosphate mine
Officials with the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management say they need to make sure their final decision complies with the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and the Groundwater Protection Rule. Monsanto Co. officials tell the Idaho ...

"Catastrophic Wildfires? Thank the Greenies and Forest Service":
Excessive Forest Service regulation , Endangered Species Act regulations, clean water regulations and more, prevent the salvaging of dead trees and cleanup of excess dead vegetation. This has resulted in a dangerous and large build up of extremely dry ..

Reptile Roils Oil Patch
Politicians suggest dire consequences if the lizard is subject to the Endangered Species Act. In New Mexico, Republican Gov. Susana Martinez warned Fish and Wildlife officials in a May letter that "the future of our state's economy and livelihood of so ...

USFWS: Small Wyoming plant needs protection
Recently the US Fish and Wildlife Service recommended the plant as a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Little is known about the plant native to Fremont County, said Genevieve Skora, a biologist with Fish and Wildlife. ...A judge found that the Bush administration’s ruling that this plant didn’t need protection “arbitrary and capricious”. Imagine that….a judge that finally finds a judgment arbitrary and capricious. What does that mean anyway, and by whom to whom?

Prairie chicken status changing -6/17/2011, 9:41 AM
Last week, he offered an amendment on a bill -- the Economic Development Revitalization Act of 2011 -- that would prohibit adding the lesser prairie chicken to the endangered species list. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, offered a similar amendment ...

WIND FARMS MUST BE PROSECUTED FOR KILLING ENDANGERED SPECIES
The Federal Bald and Gold Eagle Protection Act. The bald eagle will continue to be protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act even though it has been delisted under the Endangered Species Act. This law, originally passed in 1940, ...

My take – So why should we listen to these people? Once again. It isn’t long before some greenie organizations starts protesting their own ideas. All that it takes is for some idiotic businessman to attempt to put their ideas into effect. The greenies are only good at finding fault; they are clueless when it comes to finding solutions….especially when they are to non-problems, such a adequate energy. One of the reasons is that they have never done anything except be activists. Congressman Weiner is an excellent example. He never did anything except government and yet presented himself as an expert on economic and social issues.

Flying squirrel protections restored
CHARLESTON, W.Va., June 17 (UPI) -- The US Fish and Wildlife Service issued a final order that reinstated protection for the Virginia northern flying squirrel under the Endangered Species Act. The final rule complies with a court order that reinstated ...

Technique protested in sheep recovery efforts
The move is required by the US Endangered Species Act as part of the plan to revive the species, they said. The historic ranges include two regions in the southern part of Sequoia called Laurel Creek and Big Arroyo, where the sheep have not been seen ...

Fed may remove honu from "threatened" list
The Hawaiian Green Turtle, or Honu, has recovered so well since being classified as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act in 1978 that its federal protection may be removed. ...

In Oregon's Willamette Valley, the race to save the endangered Fender's blue butterfly
Other species don't really depend on the butterfly to survive, as its population size is too low, says Schultz, an associate professor at WSU. When the butterfly was listed in 2000 under the US Endangered Species Act, it became a target species for the ...

No Federal Help for a Species of One
The Wild Equity Institute and other groups that year filed an emergency petition for listing under the Endangered Species Act. But the US Fish and Wildlife Service, a creature of the Interior Department, said there was no emergency, despite the fact ...
My Take - All of this fuss over a plant. This is madness.

Sucker listing up for review
Laurie Sada, Klamath Falls field supervisor for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, said Endangered Species Act reviews are required every five years. The public is invited to submit new information produced since 2007. “We get a lot of comments, ...

Wind-power project for Merricourt area stalls 
Whooping cranes and piping plovers are classified as endangered species and covered by the Endangered Species Act. Towner said enXco is in the process of developing a habitat conservation plan. The plan is prepared and funded by the project developer ...

Fuel Fix » Cornyn amendment would halt Permian Basin lizard listing
John Cornyn, R-Texas, filed an amendment to the Economic Development Administration reauthorization bill that would exempt the lizard from the Endangered Species Act. Industry leaders are concerned that such a listing could greatly ...

Inhofe Introduces Amendments to Help Protect Jobs
“I have also introduced an amendment that would protect jobs and economic development in Oklahoma by preventing the listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken under the Endangered Species Act. Instead of restricting the rights of private property owners and ..

Final Thougts - Needless to say, this action is being opposed by the activists. All of these amendments are fine, except it doesn’t deal with the real issue. The ESA needs repealed as it currently exists, and I have misgivings as to whether it could be replaced with anything sane because sooner or later some group will go into court and demand that it be applied in some way that Congress never anticipated.

If you look closely you will find that the EPA, the Wildlife Service and almost all government agencies has gained enormous legislative authority through the courts that Congress never anticipated they would get nor intended for them to have. The goal of the ESA is now, and has always been, to eliminate property rights, although members of Congress never did get that in the beginning, and now that they do they are afraid of the greenies, especially since they specifically defeated a member of Congress from California over this issue.

Please take a look at my three part series on this subject starting with ESA Outrages, Part I. This is an issue that I wished I had spent more time on because there is so much more that most aren’t aware of, including the arbitrariness of the Wildlife Service’s determination of constitutes a different “species”.

 As an example; let’s suppose we find a prairie dog colony has black spots on it that other prairie dogs don’t have; does that justify classifying it separately? This would be considered a sub-species and could receive special protection in an area filled with other prairie dogs that they would be more than capable of interbreeding with. There is so much information that one could write extensively every week on the ESA.

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