There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
Itty-bitty lizard. Big oil basin. Huge problem.
The Dunes Sagebrush Lizard (Sceloporus arenicolus) is not a very big guy, only about two and a half inches from his nose to his rear. But his unique habitat sits spang on top of the Permian basin, the second-richest source of crude in the US, and he's about to be listed as endangered, at least if certain groups get their way with US Fish and Wildlife.
The worry is, of course, that if the little guy goes on The List, the land he's living on will become off-limits to all development, no matter how useful, and no matter what steps developers may take to cultivate his presence on their land.
I like lizards. If all else were equal, I'd rather have more lizards enjoying their natural habitat than fewer. But all else isn't equal: we have to prioritize our many desires, and sometimes we can do no better than allowing a few cute critters to get the wrong end of the deal. More fundamentally, it's not so clear that being listed as endangered is all that great for an animal.
I'm not one of those folks who automatically scoffs when I hear of, say, a turtle underpass being built. I might wonder whether it's a good use of government funds, or why it couldn't be paid for privately, but the idea isn't inherently ridiculous. There's a lot of conservation worth supporting. And then... there's a lot that's not, not because Conservation Is Stupid, but because not all "conservation" schemes produce benefits that justify their costs.
Would any Ricocheteers living in the NM/TX region like to comment on this one? How about Ricochetians involved in conservation efforts?
I'm always curious to learn more about efforts that successfully conserve our creatures and our freedoms.
- Comment (26)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (3)
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
Comments :
Jul '10
Re: There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
If they can teach evolution, then I say We show them lil' kiddies first hand Who's on top of the scale. Drill, Baby, Drill.
Oct '10
Re: There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
Not being from TexNewMex, and no friend of the euphemistically named "conservation movement" I am not qualified to speak to this issue. However, being in nearby Colorado, and an American citizen who's genuinely interested in the survival of my country, I'll weigh in.
The complicit big government crowd and the left "conservation movement" are constantly pushing the "endangered species" fiction. I live with absolute certainty that this is yet another pretext for totalitarian socialism. They are in this for total victory, and will accept nothing less than absolute subjugation of their targets. And we are their targets. Take their actions as the least bit genuine, and they have won. And do you believe for a second that the winners of the past, like the USSR, ever gave a damn about the environment or lizards?
May '10
Re: There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
I agree with your overall point, raycon, although wasn't the USSR's "winning" along the same lines as Charlie Sheen's? If I were an environmentalist, I'd be saying, "Exactly! The USSR crumbled because they weren't kind enough to endangered lizards."
Oct '10
Re: There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
Ottoman Umpire
I agree with your overall point, raycon, although wasn't the USSR's "winning" along the same lines as Charlie Sheen's? If I were an environmentalist, I'd be saying, "Exactly! The USSR crumbled because they weren't kind enough to endangered lizards." · May 5 at 3:24pm
Great point, but I'll bet the two or three generations of citizens who lived in the victorious USSR somehow never savored the victory.
Nov '10
Re: There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
Midget Faded Rattlesnake: Itty-bitty lizard. Big oil basin. Huge problem.
I like lizards..
Of course you like lizards. They comprised most of your diet as a juvenile.
Apr '11
Re: There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
J. C. Casteel
Midget Faded Rattlesnake: Itty-bitty lizard. Big oil basin. Huge problem.
I like lizards..
Of course you like lizards. They comprised most of your diet as a juvenile. · May 5 at 11:17pm
Great comment. I am always amazed at the kill-gnats-with-anvils approach to species conservation. We need a more malleable action plan in order to create less disruption in habitats without stopping all human activity there. After all, attention to THAT lizard and not that other one smells like politics. Which of the umpteen species going extinct (on paper) every day are worthy of attention?
Aug '10
Re: There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
J. C. Casteel
Midget Faded Rattlesnake: Itty-bitty lizard. Big oil basin. Huge problem.
I like lizards..
Of course you like lizards. They comprised most of your diet as a juvenile.
Still do. Reptile: it's the other other white meat.
Aug '10
Re: There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
flemsipper
I am always amazed at the kill-gnats-with-anvils approach to species conservation.
Me, too (especially when the species in question are gnats).
flemsipper
We need a more malleable action plan in order to create less disruption in habitats without stopping all human activity there.
Anyone have concrete suggestions here?
Bounties (like, maybe, tax breaks) for being found with a rare species on your property? If conservation groups stopped with the purely obstructionist mentality and instead began collaborating with developers, could that work?
If we want to keep rare species around, it has to be made worth people's while to do so. Our current laws often penalize people for providing habitat for rare species. That's bad for all concerned and should be changed.
But what (if anything) would we put in its place?
Aug '10
Re: There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
raycon:
The complicit big government crowd and the left "conservation movement" are constantly pushing the "endangered species" fiction. I live with absolute certainty that this is yet another pretext for totalitarian socialism.
I agree that the "conservation movement" embodied by most lobbying groups and celebrities promotes (wittingly or unwittingly) totalitarianism, and that the "endangered species act" does more to control humans than to protect other species. But...
...and this is a big but, I cannot believe the average person interested in conservation is simply using it as a pretext for totalitarianism.
Several of my childhood friends are now conservation biologists. Trust me, most are not using conservation as a pretext for anything else ;-) Many are political naïfs, too interested in other species to have learned much about Homo economicus politicus. They trust (yes, foolishly) that making lofty-sounding rules to protect what they love is enough.
There are environmental idealogues whose explicit goal is to bring down capitalism and human freedom (which they see as exploitation). There must be plenty of politicians who enjoy the power that conservation politics gives them.
But I believe it's self-defeating to impute ulterior motives to the average person interested in conservation.
Jul '10
Re: There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
Few people realize what a disaster Richard Nixon was. He created the EPA, signed the Endangered Species Act and permanently enshrined affirmative action.
Jan '11
Re: There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
The danged lizards are about as endangered as sand.
Apr '11
Re: There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
Being from Texas and having had many relatives in the oil business at one point or another, if it's actually endangered and its habitat is small, you can just drill around it. If its habitat is large, you can slant drill (drill under it) easy enough these days...
Dec '10
Re: There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
I don't get the endangered species thing. Don't these people believe in evolution and natural selection?
May '10
Re: There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
First, lizards run from noise and movement. Somehow, I think they'll manage to avoid falling into the wells.
Second, anyone worried about damage to an ecosystem from drilling has never seen an oil field. There's not much impact. And there's no shortage of wildlife around the wells.
Animals, like people, adapt.
Last, and not directly related to this celebrity lizard, our stewardship of Earth does not mean preventing change. The Left's environmental philosophies reject the basic reality that the natural world is forever in a state of change. They think of the world as one big zoo, to which humans are not invited.
People should indeed demonstrate concern for wildlife and not callously annihilate entire species and habitats. But our stewardship should always keep two points in mind: (1) the entire world belongs to humanity — lizards don't own anything; (2) nature is dynamic.
The Left's environmental philosophies are, ironically, anthropocentric. Humanity is a powerful force, but we cannot control nature. Some humility is in order.
Jul '10
Re: There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
There's gold in TexNewMex! There's gold in Alaska!
Dec '10
Re: There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
Aren't Texas and New Mexico roughnecks endangered as well?
Mar '11
Re: There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
Aaron Miller: First, lizards run from noise and movement. Somehow, I think they'll manage to avoid falling into the wells.
Second, anyone worried about damage to an ecosystem from drilling has never seen an oil field. There's not much impact. And there's no shortage of wildlife around the wells.
Animals, like people, adapt.
Last, and not directly related to this celebrity lizard, our stewardship of Earth does not mean preventing change. The Left's environmental philosophies reject the basic reality that the natural world is forever in a state of change. They think of the world as one big zoo, to which humans are not invited.
People should indeed demonstrate concern for wildlife and not callously annihilate entire species and habitats. But our stewardship should always keep two points in mind: (1) the entire world belongs to humanity — lizards don't own anything; (2) nature is dynamic.
The Left's environmental philosophies are, ironically, anthropocentric. Humanity is a powerful force, but we cannot control nature. Some humility is in order. · May 6 at 11:29am
Right on, Aaron! You pretty much took the words right out of my mouth.
Dec '10
Re: There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
"If conservation groups stopped with the purely obstructionist mentality and instead began collaborating with developers, could that work?"
It does work. I am a conservationist and earn most of my living in conservation biology. The Nature Conservancy used to be a very good group that understood Rattlesnake's point, though they have been hijacked in the past 5 years.
In my opinion, here is what you need to know. The USFWS has been inundated with prospective listings during the past 3 years. The last time I checked, the count was 186 proposed listings. They get 6 months to accept or reject a proposed listing and if they make no decision, it's an acceptance. Then they shut everything down for 2 years, while they study the critter and the habitat.
The USFWS is (in my opinion) purposely being overwhelmed with potential listings to evaluate, to take advantage of the way the system works, as their is no way they can evaluate the proposed listings rapidly enough. Young biologists are being hired from all over the country by radical groups, such as the NRDC, put into the field with template filings, and asked to go look and find.
(continued)
Dec '10
Re: There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
The areas the young biologists are being sent into are mapped out in advance. The principle used in the mapping is areas that the funders consider most vulnerable and, from my reading are those areas most likely to have energy, or rare earth subsurface resources.
I have spent more than 20 years trying to work with landowners and trying to get them to allow me to find a way to accomplish objectives that meet both land use and conservation goals. What is being done by dishonest entities, such as the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the World Wildlife fund, is, in my opinion, setting back conservation efforts by decades.
Conservatives can be and often are conservationists. The entities I listed above are not conservationist; they are acquisitional. They want your land and they want you to pay them for the privilege or to sit in court.
That's all they do, every single day, and they are salaried to do it. Real conservationists have to either work for free, or find somebody that is willing to fight these people for what may be years, over what is usually junk science.
Aug '10
Re: There's Oil Under Them There Lizards!
Thanks, CJRun. That was quite illuminating.
I had heard that the Nature Conservancy used to be a pretty good group before it got "hijacked". How did the hijacking happen? Was it inevitable, given the general trends among environmentalist groups?
Now that the Nature Conservancy has been hijacked, which associations can conservatives interested in conservation turn to?