cowboyji's Blog
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Eco Maniac: Palin v. Belugas
- Posted on 03.10.09
I wrote a piece last year about Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's polar bear problem. It covered all the issues and controversies at hand, including points from the New York Times editorial Palin wrote about the great white beings. Well, she's at it again, but this time her nemesis are those pesky beluga whales in the Cook Inlet.
Back in 2000, the belugas were put under the auspices of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, though researchers say that hasn't helped very much. Noted wildlife expert, er... hunter, um... oil shill Palin begs to differ, claiming the whales are doing just fine with those minimal protections and need not be covered by the Endangered Species Act, too: "The State of Alaska has worked cooperatively with the federal government to protect and conserve beluga whales in Cook Inlet. This listing decision didn't take those efforts into account as required by law.” To drive her point home, she filed an intent to sue the Federal Government over the matter in January.
Mother Jones frames the problem for us: “In 1994, there were some 650 Cook Inlet belugas living off the coast of Anchorage, but their numbers were nearly halved by 1997. This sharp decline was largely attributed to overharvesting by Native hunters, and by 2005 this already small whale population reached an all-time low of 278, by one government estimate. Presently, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimate the number of Cook Inlet belugas at 375.”
That's why, seeing the lack of recovery as a tocsin, officials listed the whales as endangered last fall. Palin's insouciance toward the great mammals reflects brilliantly her passion for what would be lost — “major Alaska development projects, including oil and gas development and expanding the Anchorage port.” The American Petroleum Institute and four other Big Oil groups joined hands with Palin in the polar bear case. They will likely fall in lockstep on this one, too.
As a pointed retort to her ongoing hubris in regards to environmental issues, the Center for Biological Diversity honored her with their 2008 Rubber Dodo Award. The group's director, Kieran Suckling, put it this way: "Governor Palin has waged a deceptive, dangerous and costly battle against the polar bear. Her position on global warming is so extreme, she makes Dick Cheney look like an Al Gore devotee. Palin's insistence that Arctic melting is 'uncertain' is like someone debating the theory of gravity as they plunge off a cliff. It's hopeless, reckless and extremely cynical."
But that's Sarah Palin, for you... hopelessly devoted to oil.
Related causes: Animals, Community, Environment
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