Leading a Law to Extinction: Endangered Species and the GOP

[Judi Lynn]

BY MEGHAN HAMILTON • 21 FEBRUARY 2017


In its first few weeks in power, the Trump administration has already targeted NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Parks Service, and the USDA. Now they’re after the Endangered Species Act.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was passed in 1973 to protect animal species that are under threat of extinction and to protect the ecosystems they live in. It was passed because Congress understood the importance of science, ecology, and the dangerous implications of losing precious ecosystems and species. This bill wasn’t just supported by the majority—it passed with a 92-0 vote. The Endangered Species Act is the greatest weapon protecting biodiversity against big corporations and political greed. For decades corporations and conservative politicians have threatened to defund, weaken, or repeal the act, but the current administration’s style and bent are proving a legitimate threat; according to the Center for Biological Diversity, in the last six years over 230 pieces of GOP-backed legislation have been proposed to undermine the ESA—now, with a Republican-controlled House and Senate, the fate of environmental protection is far more insecure.

A common phrase heard from the Trump administration, usually in regards to the Affordable Care Act, is “repeal and replace.” The Endangered Species Act is no stranger to those words. In December Republicans proposed scrapping the act altogether and replacing with a “better” more convenient-to-their-agendas act.

Over time, however, repealing the act has proven to be a challenge. Repealing such an act shows a blatant disregard for the beautiful living creatures and ecosystems of our planet, and truly reveals the greed of the lobbies and politicians in their pockets. So how could this act be changed less dramatically, but with similar results? The answer for Republicans seems to be to transform the law into something so useless that it becomes extinct itself.

More:
https://thehumanist.com/news/science/leading-law-extinction-endangered-species-gop

[Angry Dragon]

1. republicans are such big assholes