Continuing to nail his legacy

I can't bring myself to say that this is any sort of beginning of the end for the current administration. It's pretty typical that a second-term president will spend his lame-duck term enacting legislation and policies that he might not be able to move forward if he had to worry about another election, so I really shouldn't be surprised.

But...

President Bush's neutering of the Endangered Species Act is phenomenal.

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. In May, the polar bear became the first species declared as threatened because of climate change. Warming temperatures are expected to melt the sea ice the bear depends on for survival.

Well, no, we wouldn't want greenhouse gases regulated, would we?

The Interior Department said such consultations are no longer necessary because federal agencies have developed expertise to review their own construction and development projects, according to the 30-page draft obtained by the AP.

Sure, wouldn't want to actually consult those stupid science guys to find out if we're gonna kill or harm or poison the animals.

The reviews have helped safeguard protected species such as bald eagles, Florida panthers and whooping cranes. A federal government handbook from 1998 described the consultations as "some of the most valuable and powerful tools to conserve listed species."


In recent years, however, some federal agencies and private developers have complained that the process results in delays and increased construction costs.

Oooooh...delays...and even costs involved in protecting the environment. I hear those are going to be featured in a new horror movie next year. A half dozen attractive twenty-somethings will be trapped in a rural area, and their lives will be threatened by delays and increased construction costs.

Remember to get out and vote in November, folks.