Liberty
Matters News Service
May 14, 2004
"Wasting Billions on the Green Agenda"
Alan Caruba, of the National Anxiety Center, is blowing the whistle over billions of U.S. tax dollars being spent on foreign environmental projects. According to a speech given in Stockholm, Sweden, March 2, by John F. Turner, an Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International Environment and Scientific Affairs, Turner proudly told his audience of the vast land holdings of our federal government and their plans to acquire much more. Caruba said "The U.S. government is engaged in one of the biggest land grabs in history and it is doing it in collusion with a matrix of so-called environmental and conservation non-government organizations." Mr. Caruba calls the government's environmental programs "bizarre," and points to Mr. Turner's explanation of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership as an example. "The United States will contribute $53 million over four years to create the training programs, infrastructure, and management and enforcement regimes necessary to make the vision of a system of protected areas a success," Turner said. The U.S. is willing to forgive foreign country's debts if they agree to "protect valuable tropical forests," he continued. Turner also told the audience that "we [the U.S.] remain active in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and support its ultimate goal," and that "the United States has cemented 13 formal bilateral relationships with both developed and developing nations to address climate change." Caruba concludes by saying; "The waste of tax dollars in the name of the environment is beyond comprehension." "In the process they are destroying the key element of our economy, private property."
Wasting Billions on the Green Agenda
Florida Eminent Domain Law Defeated
Thanks to radio talk show personality Neal Boortz, Floridians were alerted to two bills in the Florida legislature that would have allowed local governments to condemn vacant subdivision lots without going to the trouble of purchasing them from their owners. Boortz inundated the air waves with a blistering attack on H.B. 1513 and SB 2548, both sponsored by Republicans, that would have allowed local governments to take private property, giving the owner "fair market" price, of course, to turn over to any entity that the officials figured would provide more taxes. Boortz's tirade galvanized people who then flooded their legislators with demands to withdraw the offending bills. The legislators felt the heat and saw the light resulting in withdrawal of the House bill and a substantially modified Senate bill that deals only with planning. S. William Moore, a Sarasota property rights attorney, said the legislation would have given local governments the power to condemn land "solely because the property had been platted before 1980. That's insane."
Eminently Exposed Credit Radio Host for Helping...
Species at "Death's Door"
Setting off the "sky is falling" alarm, several environmental groups, along with a few so-called artists and scientists, have filed petitions requesting immediate implementation of endangered species status for 225 species. "Wildlife is facing serious threats almost everywhere. In too many places around the world our forests are empty and silent, devoid even of birdsong," lamented Dr. Jane Goodall of the Goodall Institute. Dr. Goodall blamed the Bush administration for attempting to undermine the Endangered Species Act by failing to place the candidates on the endangered list. "These magnificent species are at death's door," exclaimed Kiernan Suckling, executive director of the litigious Center for Biological Diversity. "It's a long standing problem," he continued, "but it has been exacerbated by the Bush administration." Among the petitioners were Dr. Paul Erlich of Stanford University, actor Martin Sheen, and former Poet Laureate, Robert Hess, who said; "It's too late to save the California grizzly bear, the eastern cougar...they became extinct before America created the Endangered Species Act. But we're not too late to save the 225 plants and animals languishing on the federal candidate list." No doubt Hess would have high praise for a provincial environmental court in Sweden who placed a mythical lake monster in the protected species category. The information came to light when a businessman applied for a permit to collect and hatch monster eggs. Parliamentary officials agreed it was probably a joke, but turned down the application when they discovered the monster had been protected since 1986, instigating an investigation.
Petitions Filed to Protect 225 Endangered Species across Nation
Mythical Monster Placed on Endangered Species List
Task Force Draws the Line
A growing group of local business leaders in Colorado are joining together to draw the proverbial line in the sand to thwart efforts of environmental groups to force endangered species status on the Sage Grouse. The group, known as the Sage Grouse Conservation Task Force, is hoping to convince the federal government to allow the states to manage conservation efforts. "The absolute worst thing we could do is subject the bird to the regulatory straight jacket of the Endangered Species Act," said Jim Sims, coordinator of the Task Force. "This law has proved to be nearly a total failure at its mission, which is to restore species to health." Sims noted that an ESA listing perversely discourages active conservation measures. "These fringe activists really want to use this law to take away private property, run farmers off their land, stop all natural resource development, raise energy prices and turn back the clock on progress in the West," he said.
Westerners Fight Proposed Federal Takeover of Sage Grouse