Sagebrush Lizard
When will this country and this government begin to restore its sanity? Thanks to the EPA all oil production in the US was cut by 24%. This is the same EPA that refuses to allow Shell Oil to drill in Alaska view article, that refuses to allow drilling in ANWR and that continually builds obstacles to energy projects all over America. Now apparently West Texas oil production is threatened by the potential that the Sagebrush Lizard, a 3 inch reptile, might be named to the Endangered Species List. If added to the list the price this country will pay to save the lizard could threaten oil production in the Permian Basin of West Texas and Eastern New Mexico and cost many thousands of jobs. Production from this area accounts for 20% of the domestic supply of oil. Combined with the Gulf prohibition on drilling this accounts for 44% of domestic oil production and apparently the EPA is intent on preventing new exploration and recovery as well.
Last year the smelt were saved in California to the expense of nearly 30,000 jobs in the San Joaquin Valley in Central California. The Delta Smelt, only found in California, were being caught in the pumps that sent water to the Valley. To protect the smelt the EPA ordered the pumps to stop and the result was drought, no crops and no jobs. view article
In my lifetime I have seen forests that could not be harvested to protect the Spotted Owl. I have seen farmlands wasted and farmers denied their liberties to protect the Kangaroo Rat. Dingbat EPA policies have placed the Endangered Species List above the survival of America's food chain and America's energy supply. EPA policies place these endangered species above the survival of Americans. When will the madness stop?
It is apparent the madness will not stop until we begin to lay off government employees from the White House, through the Justice Department and on through the EPA. In the meantime I would suggest the following to the good people of West Texas. If you see a lizard, step on it. Put it in a bottle and send it to Washington. Perhaps during the next six months you can eradicate the West Texas area of all Sagebrush Lizards. Once there are none left to save no further harm can possibly be done to them by an oil rig. There would not be any rationale to create special privileges for the Sagebrush Lizard in an area where they do not exist.
Categories: Government Regulations, Economy
Tags: Sagebrush Lizard Permian Basin Delta Smelt EPA West Texas oil San Joaquin Valley
There are those of us who believe that preserving wildlife is worth something.
If you lose a link in the food chain it is not as simple as replacing it with something Made in China. It is gone forever.
Far too often we clear cut land or species and then find that what we are left with is worse than what we had.
But it is your God given right, so pillage and plunder the earth to your hearts content.
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Rick,
The original article was intended as satire. We don't really know the link that the Sagebrush Lizard has in the food chain, do we? Regardless, if the animal is so limited in population that it is being considered as a candidate for the Endangered Species List would it not be reasonable to assume its link is not particularly significant?
No, I don't seriously envision West Texans in the Permian Basin stomping on lizards and mailing them to Washington. But I am attempting to draw attention through satire to a ridiculous extreme that causes some environmentalists and government bureaucrats to elevate the Sagebrush Lizard above human beings. If you wish to subordinate yourself to a lizard, that is your right but please, don't burden West Texans or farmers in the San Joaquin Valley over lizards and smelt.
With regard to your notions about clear-cutting, there are trees that will simply not grow in the shadow of another tree. As a result clear-cutting is the best way to manage those forests. What is truly tragic is that so many environmentalists become so fanatical about their cause and their primary mission on earth becomes the salvation of a tree or an owl as their fellow human beings are left without a means to survive themselves. I on the other hand believe that these resources were put on this earth to be used. Renewable resources like trees need to be replenished and forest products companies do this very responsibly. They must do this to regenerate their own supply of these renewable resources for future years. I believe we all need to be responsible in our stewardship of the land but responsibility requires management, not the construction of artificial boundaries that identify resources that cannot be used and good stewardship requires that the managers not subordinate themselves to other animals, vegetables or minerals.
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