Section
Pepperdine Links
Online Publications
Living in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains and being walking-distance away from the one of the world’s most diverse ecosystems, the Pacific Ocean, it is not uncommon to observe wildlife on Pepperdine’s scenic campus.
While there is an abundance of fringed-toed lizards and white-tailed deer at Pepperdine, there are unfortunately a total of 289 endangered animals in California. A local to the Channel Islands and the rest of Southern California, the California Brown Pelican is one of the many threatened animals.
Anyone who has ever experienced an early morning run on the beach has encountered wildlife. You see a magnificent straight-line formation of pelicans elegantly gliding along the ocean, and you can relate to the passion that environmentalists have when they argue the importance of saving these animals and their habits.
Congressman Richard Pombo (R - Calif.) has long been waiting to make changes to the 1973 Endangered Species Act. He is the chairman of the House Committee on Resources.
Environmentalists and Democratic lawmakers argue that the bill proposed by Pombo will dramatically weaken the safeguards for our nation’s most valuable plants and animals. Our world is not indestructible and the slightest changes to the environment such as the loss of a certain species can and will inevitably alter the circle of life.
The purpose of the Endangered Species Act is to provide a broad protection for species of fish, wildlife and plants in the United States. The issue is in its 32 years of existence the success rate is less than 1 percent, according to Pombo. Only 10 of the nearly 1,300 species on the list have been rescued. One must understand that it takes more than a few decades to alter what it has taken millions of years to evolve.
In this case, according to the act, “provisions are made for listing species, as well as for recovery plans and the designation of critical habitat for listed species.”
Pombo, along with his supporters, need to realize when dealing with the environment, Mother Nature is the contractor of the developing area and that if the human race wants to see results then it must step back and be patient. If we fail to do so, then the future will certainly hold more loss than the past already has.
“The Act has dragged landowners into endless conflicts and litigation. Its vague classifications allow private property to be declared ‘critical habitats’ almost arbitrarily, resulting in many use restrictions,” according to the Seattle Post last week.
Environmentalists do not necessarily disagree with the notion that the act could be improved, but Pombo is not improving the act. The bill is ideal for mining industries, lumber factories and corporate developers in that it requires Fish and Wildlife Service to respond in an unrealistically short time to requests from property owners for rulings on whether a proposed action would harm endangered animals.
Is this the kind of game we should be playing with our environment? Who can get the ruling first? This is not a game.
Every ecosystem, ranging from the desert to the tundra to the mountains, is vital to human existence and well-being. These ecosystems include many diverse species, and it is inevitable if and when these habitats are disrupted that a glitch in the circle of life will occur, ultimately leading to a demise in the quality of life not only for that species but for other species as well — including homo sapiens.
We humans share a common responsibility, and that is to not push species into extinction. It is through the conservation movement and the Endangered Species Act and others like it that has kept America the diversely rich and magnificently beautiful land we love.
Bills such as Pombo’s ignore this responsibility and solely focus on the here and now.
What about the future? A future without the American crocodile, black bear, blue whale, bobcat, bottlenose dolphin, jaguar, orca, hummingbird, gray wolf and panther. One day will our children’s children may be studying their sciences only to find all these amazing animals are extinct.
The bill will not improve life but instead, in the end, kill it.
Submitted 09-29-2005
MALIBU, CA
