MARINA DEL REY, CA--This summer the federal government is orchestrating a massive drought in Oregon's Klamath Basin that has destroyed crops and livestock and driven many farmers into bankruptcy--all in the name of protecting "endangered" sucker fish and salmon. "What motivates government environmentalists to protect 'endangered' species with such zeal that they are oblivious to the suffering inflicted on human beings?" asked a senior writer for the Ayn Rand Institute.
Environmentalists often say their use of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is for the benefit of humanity. But "whenever man's needs conflict with the 'interests of nature,' as they now do in Klamath Basin, environmentalist always take the side of nature," noted Glenn Woiceshyn. "The environmentalist subscribe to an 'intrinsic value' ethic, which means that nature must be valued--not for any benefit it brings to man, but because nature is somehow a value in and of itself. Hence, nature must be kept pristine despite the harm this causes man. We must halt activities beneficial to us, such as farming, forestry, and the treatment of disease, in order to safeguard fish, birds, trees, and rats."
Woiceshyn added: "We are being told to sacrifice our lives to nature. And current environmental legislation, such as the ESA, provides government with massive powers to enforce such sacrifices. Environmentalism makes man the endangered species--as the destroyed farmers of the Klamath Basin demonstrate."
Ayn Rand Institute senior fellow Dr. Onkar Ghate is available for interviews on this topic.
Design copyright Scars Publications and Design. Copyright of individual pieces remain with the author. All rights reserved. No material may be reprinted without express permission from the author.
