Jeff Jacoby makes the case that the Endangered Species Act has ironically created an incentive not to save endangered species, but rather to eliminate them as soon as possible--to shoot, shovel, and shut up. The number of endangered species has gone up by a factor of 12, 11 species have gone extinct, and only 57 have recovered--and those mostly resulting from the DDT ban and the Clean Water Act, which required certain wetlands to be preserved, helping many bird species to recover.
It's long past time to take Congress by the lapels, shake them well, and tell them "Don't 'just do something', think through the economic consequences before you act!". Just like the Violence Against Women Act appears to have resulted in more violence against women, and just like federal supports of electric vehicles are creating many billions of dollars of bricks in winter, apparently the Endangered Species Act is creating a lot of dead and even extinct animals.
Heckuva job, Congress. Again, think it through first.
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