THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, April 1, 1996 TAG: 9603290027
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
Hippocrates said, ``For extreme illnesses extreme treatments are most fitting.'' But trying to cure the Endangered Species Act by killing it is ridiculous. Yet that's been the unfortunate GOP approach.
There's little disagreement that the Endangered Species Act is in need of fine tuning. It is often rigidly enforced and leaves little room for creative solutions. Opponents tell horror stories about livelihoods lost to protect plentiful rats, dams stopped to protect seemingly insignificant fish.
But there are horror stories on the other side as well, and extinction rather than economic discomfort. Population density of songbirds in the United States has dropped by 50 percent. There were once 68 mussel species in Alabama. Since the 1920s, 44 have become extinct. Twenty percent of freshwater-fish species are extinct or on the brink. The list could be extended for pages.
It is easy to say, Who cares? Species come and go, don't they? But thanks to human activities, they are going at an accelerating clip and once gone don't come back. The idea of a web of life is no mere metaphor. As we increasingly learn, the interrelationships between species are many and often hidden. Remove one and unintended consequences occur. Clip too many strands of the web of life and it can collapse. For long-term survival, we rely on the biodiversity we are undermining for short-term gain.
Most objections to the Endangered Species Act are rooted in commerce. If preserving species impedes someone's enrichment, adios. That's obvious from the tactics being used. There have been few attempts to devise fixes for legitimate problems with the legislation. Instead, foes have proposed repealing the act entirely.
Failing to achieve that, they have succeeded in imposing a moratorium. The act will continue in force for species already on the list, but no new species may be declared endangered. This is a ham-handed nonsolution to a real problem.
Biodiversity expert E.O. Wilson believes we are living in ``a world peppered by miniature holocausts.'' If humankind, as opposed to nature, is allowed to take its course, there will be nothing miniature about the destruction. Already, in rain forests alone, Wilson estimates 27,000 species are reaching extinction a year, 74 a day, three an hour. Future inhabitants of a depleted planet will look back on our stewardship with fury. But by then, it will be too late. by CNB