This blog post references two articles
The first article, “Oregon chub is the first fish saved by Endangered Species Act” written by Rich McCormick, was published on February 5th in The Verge on theverge.com. The article discusses the impending removal of the Oregon chub, a small minnow native to Oregon, from the endangered species list. This species would be the first fish to be delisted since the creation of the US Endangered Species Act in 1973. The article states “The Oregon chub was placed on the endangered species in 1993 after the loss of floodplain habitats and predation by non-native fish. At the time, fewer than eight populations of Oregon chub existed, with fewer than 1,000 fish.” The little fish has successfully been saved by a recovery plan, and its population now exceeds 150,000. The US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed on February 4th that it be removed, and it seems that should be in order.
The second article is titled “House Republicans target Endangered Species Act” was written by Matthew Brown, published on February 5th in The Spokesman-Review. The article is about the Republican request for reform of the US Endangered Species Act. It is ironic that this proposal occurred on the same day that the removal of the chub from the list was proposed. Republicans state that the act is more of an effort to list endangered species rather than to protect them, and want to give states more authority over endangered species within their borders. “Republicans have seized on the fact that only 2 percent of protected species have been declared recovered – despite billions of dollars in federal and state spending.” The 2% figure, however, has been disputed as ignoring the hundreds of species that are currently recovering.
These articles raise a connection to our biology class. During our ecosystem unit, we learned about endangered species and what may cause their endangered status. Much of the risks posed to animals are human related. Hunting, fishing, destroying their habitats, polluting water, and much more can put animals in danger. Since humans are usually the cause of the problem, we also must be the ones to solve the problem. We also learned during our carbon cycle unit ways to keep excess carbon emissions down, protecting the environment. Finally, I can connect this back to the Lorax. In the end of the movie, the young boy is giving the last Trufulla seed, representing a chance to start over. Through human intervention, the Oregon chub has been given a new chance. The Lorax would be proud.
Combined, these two articles raise a few very important political-environmental issues and cause some tension. The most prominent question raised by these two article is: How much is our environment worth? Although it is easy to say that our earth is priceless, do we, and should we, really believe this? The congressmen who propose an overhaul of the US Endangered Species Act pose this question. At what point does the government need to spend their money elsewhere? Economically, the US endangered Species Program has proved very ineffective. However, completely ignoring the environment would be a terrible mistake, and it is our job to fix the problems we have created. This proposed reform could be effective in saving government money, as well as providing for endangered species. Conversely, it could let animals that could have been saved go extinct. All these questions are very difficult to answer, and I have no strong stance either way. No matter the outcome, at least we saved the Chub.
Great post. Very informative about something that I have not heard about. You did a great job on relating the topic to our classroom and I could really hear your voice throughout the article. It was easy to read, informative and not boring. It was concise,nice and precise. Keep Blogging!
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