The Bush administration may push through changes to the Endangered Species Act that would -- surprise! -- be detrimental to endangered species. Tens of thousands of projects funded, built, or authorized by federal agencies each year would be exempt from currently mandated independent reviews, according to a leaked proposal. Instead, the administration has determined that federal agencies now have the know-how to decide whether highways, dams, mines, and the like would harm endangered species -- and the regulations would not allow agencies to include greenhouse-gas emissions in those calculations. "We believe federal action agencies will err on the side of caution in making these determinations," says the draft document. Ha ha ha! Oh, that's not a joke? The proposal is expected to be made public within weeks and will require only a 60-day comment period -- not congressional approval -- before being finalized. sources: Associated Press , National Wildlife Federation see for yourself: Read the leaked proposal [PDF] ...
Anytime
