Pombo's Assault on Endangered Species

The Union of Concerned Scientists has put out an emergency alert to rally scientists to oppose a recently passed House bill that would gut the Endangered Species Act. There's a high likelihood that the Senate will pass some kind of measure, according to UCS. So as action shifts now to the Senate, they are hoping to put pressure on key Senators like Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) to stave off what could be the most significant environmental rollback of the Bush era.

House Bill 3824 was sponsored by Rep. Richard Pombo, a Republican from California who, according to a League of Conservation Voters official, "tops the list of history's most ruthless environmental bad boys." There isn't a part of the country that he doesn't want to drill, mine or develop, he said. (For a good backgrounder on Pombo, see today's Grist (an online Magazine), where an outstanding young journalist named Amanda Griscom Little plies her trade.

Pombo's bill, according to a National Wildlife Federation analysis, would remove protection for habitats that species need for survival and recovery. It also would undermine the scientific underpinnings of the act, according to UCS, by allowing political appointees rather than scientists to decide what is the best science available. The implications for other science-based laws -- think clean air, clean water, safe food, safe drugs, etc. etc. -- is truly frightening.

UCS is asking environmental scientists to sign a protest letter that it plans to distribute to all Senators in early February. Interested readers can learn more about how to stop this pernicious legislation here.