Save the Endangered Species Act!

We have one week left. If you haven't made a public comment yet, please do it now. Apparently, plain emails are not being considered, just another way of limiting public input.

'Death by Definition' in the Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-lakoff/death-by-definition-save_b_124904.html

While our attention has been turned elsewhere, the Endangered Species Act, our major environmental protection legislation, is being gutted--now. Not by Congress. Not by the courts. Not even by Bush's executive orders. It is being destroyed by redefinition, by a series of linguistic tricks.

Thanks to George Lakoff. Here are some talking points from the article, and instructions on how to get your comments read:

Act Now!

Here are some Talking Points:

* You are against the proposed rule changes because they weaken the Endangered Species Act nearly to the point of nonexistence.

* Environmental systems mostly work by systemic causation, with many indirect causes, not by "essential causation." The change to "essential causation" opens the door to an indefinitely large number of projects that can jointly put endangered species in jeopardy.

* The change in "consultation" rules will de facto eliminate the gathering of information relevant to protecting species.


Here's how you get your comments read:

Go to www.regulations.gov and use the search terms: "50 CFR Part 402 proposed rule".

The proposed changes are in Document # E8 - 18938

To see the proposed changes, click on "View this document"

Click on "Send a comment or submission" to write your comment.