News Tip: Endangered Species Act Protects ‘What Americans Value,’ Expert Says
Conservation ecologist Stuart Pimm comments on Trump plan to change act
On Monday, the Trump administration announced it would change the way the Endangered Species Act is applied. Some say it will weaken protections for threatened species.
Quotes:
“The great majority of Americans value our natural heritage and find inspiration in it. This administration seeks to trash what so many value, what excites our children and generations to come,” says Duke University conservation ecology professor Stuart Pimm, a leader in the study of present-day extinctions and what can be done to prevent them.
“Worse, it does so for the financial benefit of a few personal contacts. Let’s not mince words: Our natural heritage is worth more money as nature, rather than what it yields to those who would degrade and pollute it for their short-term greed. The Endangered Species Act is a keystone of protecting what Americans value.”
Bio:
Stuart Pimm is the Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. He recently was awarded the 2019 International Cosmos Prize, widely viewed as one of the most prestigious honors in the environmental field, for his groundbreaking research on endangered species.
https://nicholas.duke.edu/people/faculty/pimm
For additional comment, contact Stuart Pimm at:
stuart.pimm@duke.edu