Bush's parting shots bad for environment

The Bush administration is almost history. The environmentalists among us were on the verge of conjuring mental images of the administration heading off into the environmental netherworld. As close as they are to losing power and authority, the president's anti-environment minions at the Interior Department felt compelled to pull yet one more harmful stunt.

This time, on the way out the door to richly merited oblivion, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service proposed major changes to the Endangered Species Act, so as to (what else?) endanger more species.

The Associated Press obtained a draft proposal of the rule that forced the administration to make public its Neanderthal thinking on a project that it was trying to push through completely beneath the radar. The rule change seeks to bypass normal scientific environmental impact reviews for construction projects, such as highways, dams, and mines.

The Endangered Species Act has until now required federal agencies to consult with scientists at the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service on whether a project is likely to affect (harm) any of the 1,353 animal and plant species listed as endangered or threatened.

The draft rules, which do not need to be approved by Congress but are subject to a 30-day public-comment period, would let each agency decide whether a project would harm listed species. This is the functional equivalent of letting the preschoolers take charge of Miss Nancy in "Romper Room," instead of the other way round.

In case smoke is not yet emanating from your ears, the proposed changes would also prevent federal agencies from assessing the greenhouse gas emissions from construction projects. I guess the thinking went something like: "Let's pollute the air for humans, too, while we kill off all the animals."

According to the Christian Science Monitor, "If approved, the changes would represent the biggest overhaul of the Endangered Species Act since 1988. They would accomplish through regulations what conservative Republicans have been unable to achieve in Congress: ending some environmental reviews that developers and other federal agencies blame for delays and cost increases on many projects."