Lenn wins the Kewpie. Amen to that. Species have been going extinct since time began usually without any help or hindrance from mankind. If they can't adapt, they'll simply go away, as nature intended. We owe our reliance on oil today to the extinction of plants and animals eons ago. The same fate will befall mankind one day as well rergardless of whether we have dual pane windows or wind turbines.

Betina - Nowhere did I advocate development running wild but there needs to be a balance. Wild-eyed environmentalists don't understand the meaning of balance - it's their way or the highway (well, not the highway maybe since highways are part of the problem - but you get my drift). Do you know WHY the bees are dying off Betina? Since most experts can't seem to agree on why, I'm sure they'd like to hear from you on the subject. Let me guess - man's encroachment and pollution into the bees habitat. Except that most of the affected bees were brought into their current environment by man, who is also doing everything they can to keep them alive. Could it be, as many posit, that like red tides, lemmings and cicada's, the bee die-off is the result of a natural cycle? I'm guessing you would disagree with that hypotenuse.

Like it or not, mankind is the dominant species on the planet right now. Wildlife needs to accommodate and if they can't they go extinct - as they have been doing for eons with and/or without mans interference. It's the law of nature, cruel & unjust as it may be just like lions in the Serengeti devouring poor helpless Gazelles. One day that law will come home to bite us in the ass as well and we'll no longer be the dominant species - may not survive at all (see my earlier rant on Green Fraud). Until then you don't shut down a town's livelihood over a theoretical butterfly. That's nonsensical.

By the way - my use of the language is always precise. Had I meant to say hypothesis you may be assured I would have but thanks for the lesson in  Greek. I'm disappointed you didn't point out my fragrant misuse of fallacy as well. And yes, I did mean to reference poo in my title. Perhaps you are too young to remember Gilda Radner's great rants as Emily Litella on Saturday Night Live who, if I'm not mistaken, used this exact title in one of her notorious rants about endangered feces. At the end of her rant Jane Curtin would point out that the phrase was actually endangered SPECIES or whatever else she was ranting about and Emily would smile sweetly, face the camera and say "Oh, my. Well that's very different isn't it? Never mind. Bitch."

Steve - I loved the quote by a columnist in the Alamagordo (NM) Daily News regarding the butterfly crisis - " I like butterflies, especially when you catch them while they are still caterpillars. Deep fried and dipped in a little honey mustard sauce, they are delicious." I'm guessing Betina won't be laughing at either of those quotes, eh?

Thanks Mirela - Oftentimes when you try to understand what the enviro's are up to it all comes back to 'follow the money'. We have had literally tens of thousands of acres set aside in SoCal for groups like the Butterfly, the Stephens Kangaroo Rat, the Fairie Shrimp, etc. Not only has this deprived thousands of people of their private property rights, it has contributed to the prohibitive cost of housing in the region as environmental groups demand pay-offs to allow people to build on their own parcels. Much like purchasing carbon offsets credits, if you want to build on your own parcel but it may be considered habitat, you can pay to have your habitat swapped with other land designated as habitat so as long as money changes hands, endangered species be damned. 

This lunacy is continues in the form of land bridges - wherebye certain areas are designated as a bridge between one set-aside and another so endangered species can commute from one area to another supposedly without running into mankind. What a crock. These species, if they migrate at all, have been using the same migratory patterns for generations. Now the enviro's think that by designating these land bridges the beasties will alter their patterns. If it weren't so idiotic and costly it would be downright comical. Follow the Money - that's the road to every environmentalists true passion I'm afraid.

Andrea - thanks for stopping by and glad you got a chuckle. Sometimes we take ourselves too seriously and thank heavens for Mirela and others who give us a place to lauigh and focus on the positives in our lives.

It's strange but many people don't realize Realtors are truly environmentalists - just not the rabid tree-hugging kind. Quality of life is the core of our business and if we lay waste to the environment we are crapping in our own nest. That's not good. Just like responsible hunters are frequently some of the most outspoken advocates for conservation,  we must strive for a balance with nature. ps. I do enjoy propagating my species in the great outdoors and am grateful for at least an acre of privacy on the rare occasion I am able to practice my craft.