After nearly eight years, the evidence makes it abundantly clear that the Bush administration has little use for scientists. Or science, for that matter. Logical, critical thinking has become endangered.
On Monday, the administration proposed a major dismantling of the Endangered Species Act: New rules would allow federal agencies to decide whether protected species would be harmed by agency projects — eliminating the independent scientific reviews that have been required for more than three decades.
Currently, agencies submit any plans that potentially affect endangered animals and plants to review by the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service. Under the new rules, according to the Washington Post, dam and highway construction and other federal projects could proceed without delay if the agency in charge decides they would not harm vulnerable species. Well. How handy for them. And too bad for the environment, animals and plants.
But not to worry. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said the changes are a “narrow regulatory change” that “will provide clarity and certainty to the consultation process under the Endangered Species Act.” Oh. Why didn’t they just say so, then?
An example of the administration’s disregard for science and the environment played out last month: According to the Associated Press, the National Park Service wanted to close a section of Yellowstone Park in the wintertime because of the risk of avalanche. Businesses in Cody, Wyo., said no way, they need the tourism.
The White House intervened on behalf of the businesses.
A final decision, announced by Park Service regional director Mike Snyder, will keep the park’s eastern entrance open to snow-going vehicles throughout the winter. The cost to taxpayers could run into the millions of dollars for a decision to accommodate a small number of tourists.
“This clearly falls into the basket of politics and the administration trumping science and what’s best for the national park system,” says Tim Stevens, who manages Yellowstone issues for the National Parks Conservation Association, a private watchdog group. “It clearly shows political manipulation.”
Replace “national park system” with climate change, water and forest policies, Endangered Species Act, or whatever scientific issue of your choosing and the criticism applies.
It’s worth noting that in the 2004 campaign, 48 Nobel Prize-winning scientists endorsed President Bush’s challenger, accusing Bush of “compromising our future” by shortchanging scientific research. This latest attempt to roll back decades of protections, to hand over environmental decision-making to non-scientists, is exactly the kind of thing they were warning us about.
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