Weakening the Endangered Species Act could harm humans, too

US-PARKS-YELLOSTONE NATIONAL PARK

Photo credit should read KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images

On August 12th, the ***** Administration issued crucial changes to the Endangered Species Act, which — if implemented next month — will affect both people and wildlife. Critics of the new measures, announced by the Fish and Wildlife Service, say the changes weaken protections for many species, and potentially open up huge areas of land for oil and gas development, even as carbon dioxide emissions continue to heat the planet.

The Endangered Species Act was created in 1973 under President Nixon with bipartisan support to help conserve wildlife at risk of extinction because of human activity. Since then, it’s been credited with preventing the eradication of 99 percent of the 1,650 species it has guarded. The latest changes to the law…

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