Thread: Environmentalists warn of a future where laws no longer appl

Environmentalists warn of a future where laws no longer apply

August 23, 2008 - 8:29PM
By Laura Tillman, The Brownsville Herald
MISSION - National representatives of the Sierra Club warned on Friday that the Bush administration's proposed relaxation of the Endangered Species Act could lead to an ongoing disregard of environmental laws, with results echoing construction of the U.S.-Mexico border fence.

Under the new provisions, federal agencies would have the authority to independently determine whether construction projects will impact endangered species, advocates warn.

Previously required scientific evaluations would be reduced, and climate change would be wholly excluded from environmental considerations, advocates warn.

On Friday, after spotting the rare Mexican bluewing and Malachite butterflies in the North American Butterfly Association Park, Sierra Club members visited a border fence construction site near Donna, where bulldozers unearthed vegetation and replaced shrubs with metal girders. The construction illustrated their concerns.

"In the past, environmental laws have enabled us to work out compromises (with federal authorities)," said Jim Chapman, chairman of the Sierra Club's Lower Rio Grande Valley Chapter.

In 1999, the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit against news/" class="autolink">Immigration and Naturalization Services when 49 miles of floodlights were planned along the Rio Grande. Environmental laws like the Endangered Species Act provided leverage for the group's argument, and a compromise was reached to exclude sensitive habitats from the path of the lights.

"What's happening now is unprecedented, because the laws no longer apply," Chapman said. "Even the Reagan administration, who were no friends of the environment, didn't try to dismantle 100 years of environmental protection."

In March, the Sierra Club and Defenders of Wildlife filed a petition with the Supreme Court, arguing that the Real ID Act is unconstitutional. The Act allows the Department of Homeland Security director to waive laws in the interest of national security.

The Supreme Court rejected the petition without comment.

According to the Sierra Club, the Rio Grande Valley is home to the third largest number of endangered species in the country, with 21 species federally listed as threatened or endangered.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has invested more than $90 million in creating a wildlife corridor for endangered animals, such as the wild ocelot, of which less that 100 remain in the nation.

Members of the Sierra Club said opposing the border fence has galvanized them and that each setback has made them more determined.

Still, as they stood next to the construction office in Donna, Lone Star Chapter Conservation Director Cyrus Reed said few options remained.

"We've tried legal strategies, we've tried political strategies," Reed said. "Neither political party wants to look at this issue."

Frontera Audubon Director Wayne Bartholomew said he isn't surprised that conservation regulations have been pushed aside.

"Environmental issues are easily dismissed - but the constitutional aspect is not," Bartholomew said. "You can look at the case of the Valley as a new effort by the Bush administration to waive laws to achieve an end."



ltillman@brownsvilleherald.com


http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/c ... ierra.html

We can't build a wall because of BUTTERFLIES

Good grief. Building a fence does not stop birds and butterflies from flying around, and it doesnt cause "global warming". I care about the environment but sometimes people take it too far.

The Sierra Club ought to think about horrendous affects of adding another 150 million people to America's population by 2040. That is what they should be concerned about. Wildlife and many natural resources would be completely destroyed.

Environmental issues are easily dismissed - but the constitutional aspect is not," Bartholomew said. "You can look at the case of the Valley as a new effort by the Bush administration to waive laws to achieve an end

."

The Constitution was meant to protect citizens of the United States, not butterflies or citizens of mexico! I like wildlife and butterflies too! However, not at the expense of the United States becoming a third world country because we decided butterflies and lizzards should take precedence over our citizens and their quality of life!

Having untold amounts of illegal invaders trample through sensitive wildlife habitat cannot be all that good for that area now can it?

So they think we need to follow environmental laws but not the immigration laws, even thought the breakage of immigration laws has led to 50 million additional people in the USA and thus to the need for some of these environmental laws!!

They are not environmentalists, they are Communists.

Here's to the Senile Club _ [] _ _ , bye bye now!

They are too entangled in leftist alliances to even realise their own aims. Its sad. Yes, we certainly DO care about the environement. We care about what illegals have done to the deserts of Arizona. We are concerned that our land, water, and air quality will deteriorate with half a billion people living here by mid-century. We at ALIPAC out-environmentalist the environmentalists.