Trump administration plans to drastically weaken law protecting endangered species

[BigLeRoy]

Yes

I believe we should be good stewards of creation. But I believe that people are more important than plants and animals and the earth. So I believe farmers should be able to kill a wolf or a black vulture if it is a danger to him, his family and his livelihood.
Genesis 1:28
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Or, in Ann Coulter's more contemporary words, "God gave us the Earth, and told us to go out and RAPE it".

We are NOT being 'good stewards' of the Earth; that's precisely the point, ripskater. Not when a MILLION species look likely to go extinct within your lifetime (unless you're an old geezer like me). We have been more than 'fruitful'-------we have multiplied to the point where we are threatening the Earth's biosphere, and the proper functioning of ecosystems that help to keep us alive. We humans did not hit our first billion in population until about the year 1804, most demographers figure. In barely more than two centuries, since roughly the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, our numbers have ballooned to over 7.7 billion, a number still rising rapidly, by almost 85 million people every year. We are literally elbowing out all the wildlife of the planet. Mammals are actually going nocturnal, and getting smaller, the better to HIDE from the human race.

I prefer Chief Seattle: "The Earth does not belong to Man. Man belongs to the Earth."

 

[ripskater]

We are NOT being 'good stewards' of the Earth; that's precisely the point, ripskater. Not when a MILLION species look likely to go extinct within your lifetime (unless you're an old geezer like me). We have been more than 'fruitful'-------we have multiplied to the point where we are threatening the Earth's biosphere, and the proper functioning of ecosystems that help to keep us alive. We humans did not hit our first billion in population until about the year 1804, most demographers figure. In barely more than two centuries, since roughly the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, our numbers have ballooned to over 7.7 billion, a number still rising rapidly, by almost 85 million people every year. We are literally elbowing out all the wildlife of the planet. Mammals are actually going nocturnal, and getting smaller, the better to HIDE from the human race.

I prefer Chief Seattle: "The Earth does not belong to Man. Man belongs to the Earth."

Romans 1 King James Version (KJV)



21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

 

[Davocrat]

Romans 1 King James Version (KJV)



21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

I like my cats more than I like you. I know that.

 

[ripskater]

I like my cats more than I like you. I know that.

 

[Davocrat]

I like how you selectively embrace secular pop culture then alternate to self-righteous Bible thumping.

 

[BigLeRoy]

I like my cats more than I like you. I know that.

Donald Trump likes pussies, too.

I just HAD to say that.

Maybe the Devil made me do it.

 

[HCProf]

The very reason that America is seeing a population explosion of coyotes is because we mostly eliminated wolves from across the American landscape. No wolves, the coyotes move in. Coyotes are very adaptable animals that are moving into many of our cities today, having lost much of their fear of man. But then, coyotes are NOT an "endangered species", and there are few restrictions on killing them.

But this sort of thing is a fine example of what can happen if you go about deliberately eliminating the top predator...….wolves, in this case...….from an ecosystem. There are all kinds of cascading effects down the food chain, and we may not always like the results. If you want to eliminate the lynx population in Canada, say, expect an enormous population explosion of snowshoe hares.

Do we really need snakes? I would not miss them if they were gone.

 

[BigLeRoy]

Do we really need snakes? I would not miss them if they were gone.

Sure. Eliminate all the snakes, and expect to see a LOT more rats and mice running around. They are prey for many snake species.

Mosquitos may be a more interesting case. They seem to cause us nothing but misery. And some scientists are actually looking at ways and methods that might exterminate EVERY LAST MOSQUITO on Earth.

But should we really do that? Do we understand what all the knock-on effects would be? [Bat populations might plummet, as many bats prey on mosquitos------but they also prey on OTHER harmful and/or annoying insects.]

Are we not 'playing God' if we decide to try to eliminate every last mosquito in the world? Are we not saying by doing so that we think God made a terrible mistake in creating mosquitos in the first place-----if you are going to adopt a creationist view of things, that is...….

 

[HCProf]

Sure. Eliminate all the snakes, and expect to see a LOT more rats and mice running around. They are prey for many snake species.

Mosquitos may be a more interesting case. They seem to cause us nothing but misery. And some scientists are actually looking at ways and methods that might exterminate EVERY LAST MOSQUITO on Earth.

But should we really do that? Do we understand what all the knock-on effects would be? [Bat populations might plummet, as many bats prey on mosquitos------but they also prey on OTHER harmful and/or annoying insects.]

Are we not 'playing God' if we decide to try to eliminate every last mosquito in the world? Are we not saying by doing so that we think God made a terrible mistake in creating mosquitos in the first place-----if you are going to adopt a creationist view of things, that is...….

Snakes and mosquito's suck....but snakes suck the most. The one I am the most concerned are the declining numbers of bee's and what it could mean to our food supply.

 

[BigLeRoy]

Snakes and mosquito's suck....but snakes suck the most. The one I am the most concerned are the declining numbers of bee's and what it could mean to our food supply.

So you're OK with more rats and mice running around?

I'm beginning to think you have a snake phobia.

And there's a technical name for that:

Ophidophobia is the scientific name for a very common fear, fear of snakes. Of course, to be called ‘phobia’, the fear has to be excessive or abnormal. Many people call fear of snakes ‘herpetophobia’ which really is the abnormal fear of reptiles and amphibians in general.

That's from this Wikipedia link on Snake Phobias: Ophidiophobia - Wikipedia

More common is arachnophobia, an intense fear of spiders.