Re: Townhall.com – 2/8/2009 – “How Congress Trumps Darwin” - George Will

I think Will has fallen into a trap often taken by lesser minds --- he has confused a measure with the thing being measured.

The main purpose of the protection of endangered species is not to protect the endangered species pre se (but of course it is hoped to accomplish that goal as one of its results) but to protect and help restore a balance of nature that humans desire, if not need. By stopping mankind from inadvertently killing off his cohabitating creatures, mankind may be protected from his own inadvertent self destruction. Miners used to take caged canaries down into mines. When a canary keeled over in their mine it meant that if the miners didn’t do something quick, they’d be next. A dying canary was an indicator of danger in the mine and probably danger to the miner. That, in a nutshell, is the primary purpose of the endangered species act --- it forces mankind to consider the effects on itself of its actions that harm other species.

Unfortunately, the endangered species act is not perfectly formulated. It does not adequately distinguish between endangered species as indicators of potentially harmful behavior to mankind’s environment and endangered species as species to be protected even though they are evolutionary unfit for survival. It errs in trying to stop specie-destructive human action instead of merely making mankind consider the long term effects of those human actions. But the endangered species act is better than nothing and better than any of the yet suggested replacements I have seen --- neither I nor anyone else seems to know how to formulate an effective protective policy for our environment other than by protecting, one by one, its components.