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U.S.
Drought Spells Bad News for Endangered Species
Plenty
Magazine
It's
been said that the wars of the future will be fought not for land or for
oil, but for water. Well, the battle lines are already being drawn here
in the
The
American Southeast is in the middle of an "exceptional"
drought that could see some water supplies drying up in as little as
three months. In response, every single one of Georgia's senators and
congressmen (Democrat and Republican alike) have proposed amending the
Endangered Species Act to lift species protections during times like
this, saying "we're
united in this crisis to put our people before sturgeon and
mussels." (
This
legislation,
which was introduced into the U.S. Senate and Congress this week, would
allow a state like Georgia to exempt itself Endangered Species Act
whenever its governor or the Secretary of the Army declares that drought
conditions threaten public health and safety.
Environmentalists
are, of course, aghast at this legislation and say
How
serious is this? Well, a new
study warns that drought conditions put an area's water-based
biodiversity at risk. The research, published in the October 15
issue of Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, reveals that drought results in
situations which kills off many pond species, leaving the ponds that
recover all completely alike in terms of species populations. It's worth
noting that this study looked at species, such as amphibians and
insects, that could try to migrate to other ponds. Fish can't do that.
So in a drought crisis, they're doubly screwed.
If
this legislation passes, make that triply screwed.
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NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, any copyrighted
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Source: http://www.plentymag.com/blogs/extinction/2007/10/us_drought_