The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was passed almost unanimously by Congress in 1973 and is what the USA should stand for, protecting what can't protect itself. Protecting all species protects Earth and its humans also. The value of plants and animals that are known as well as those not yet discovered is priceless. We're talking about understanding science and existing law and logic - eco-logic!

The purposes of the ESA are two-fold: to prevent extinction and to recover species to the point where the law's protections are not needed. It therefore "'protect[s] imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend' through different mechanisms .

The current administration has been anti-science and anti-every aspect of the environment, from clean air and water to safe and sane energy. Most recently, they have attacked several aspects of the important Endangered Species Act, most prominently protections on habitats, as if there is nothing wrong with not having a place to live or find food.

Our guests for this episode are:

Ben Levitan, a senior attorney with the Earthjustice Biodiversity Defense Program. He has been a senior attorney with EarthJustice for several years and several lawsuits. He was on Democracy Now! on July 16.

and

Tara Zuardo, a senior advocate of the Center for Biological Diversity's Endangered Species program. As an attorney, she has been fighting for animals and for the Endangered Species Act for many years.

Some lawsuits can get lost in legal language, but not this one. This executive order redefines the common word harm , pretending that destroying a habitat where a species lives somehow does not harm the species. Hurting or killing an animal harms the animal, but so does damaging where the animal lives, leaving it homeless.

Habitat protection also is protection for clean and healthy air and water, which benefits non-endangered species, too, such as humans. Tara Zuardo said, It's like not allowing firefighters to go into a building until after it burns down .

The Supreme Court rejected this new interpretation in 1995, acknowledging that harm includes habitat destruction. Therefor it upheld the ESA s prior definition of harm, as the intent of Congress was clear. The case, which includes a request for an injunction based on its emergency nature, will be heard in federal District Court, where there appear to be good prospects for success, as nothing like this has ever been done to the ESA.

This attack on the ESA defies logic, defies the law, defies science, and that's what's scary, what's legal, logical, and science-based doesn't seem to matter to the Administration.

When the ESA change was proposed last year, the agency received over 300,000 letters, emails and phone calls from organizations, individuals, and scientists. Now they are ignoring those 300,000 comments. This attack on the ESA prompted a lawsuit to be filed on behalf of 9 organizations, 2 of which will be represented on this episode. There are separate lawsuits filed by Indigenous Nations.

We'll discuss why the ESA is such an important law, the importance of connected habitats, and specific species and ecosystems that are under threat. You will learn what you can do.

We need to care because of the often-immediate irreversible damage to many species and to the places we love to visit. We rely on these ecosystems. We want to leave behind the web of life we inherited, stop things from getting worse, and leave it in even better shape. There will be fewer opportunities for scientific and medical breakthroughs--the less biodiversity, the less we can learn. We're learning more all the time about how species help us. It's an incredible planet we've inherited and to think that humans can cause so much destruction is horrible. It's a gift to be on this planet.

This would allow clearcutting and mining where it's not currently allowed. Oil and timber companies would be able to drive species to extinction. Argentinian herpetologist Juli n Faivoich said on the August 10, 2004 episode of Eco-Logic: "God put them there and we have no right to kill them." Every species deserves freedom from the danger that comes from exploitation and has a right to be free from extinction.

Species have gone extinct because of habitat destruction: the first one that comes to mind is the Passenger Pigeon after the mid-west beech forests they nested in were cut down. Many species are particularly vulnerable: Florida Panthers, Coho Salmon, Grizzly Bears, Northern Spotted Owls, Pitcher Plants, Karner Blue Butterflies, Yosemite Toads, and too many more to list here.

Homelessness is unhealthy, sometimes deadly, for people. It's absolutely deadly for plants and animals.

This week, we start the show with news items: a pair of nuclear anniversaries, NYC avoids real renewable energy, and good news for the Everglades.

The week's song was written especially for this episode of Eco-Logic by Sharon Abreu. She took her Bush-era song about homelessness and rewrote it as "Give the Critters Back Their Homes."

Tune in on radio or internet to get more details.

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Ken Gale, Donna Stein, Sally Gellert, and Charlie Olson/TheEnvironmentTV

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