Entries by Regina Asmutis-Silvia

Back in December I wrote about the Bush Administration's farewell to endangered species by "streamlining" the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  Seems that, in a Bush Administration dictionary, "streamlining" translates to allowing industries to benefit at the expense of endangered and/or threatened wildlife.  On December 11th 2008, with only weeks left in office, the Bush Administration passed their streamlining the ESA provision which meant that agencies no longer needed to consult with federal wildlife officials to ensure protection to endangered species.  They could simply allow actions to take place without expert advice.  When I wrote about it in December, I asked President Elect Obama for a Christmas gift- and today he granted it!  President Obama repealed the streamlining provision reinstating the status quo.  There are few times I can think of that I have been as happy to embrace the status quo as I am today!  So, depending on how you look at it, Christmas came a bit late, or very early- but arrived none the less.  Here's hoping the Obama Administration keeps gift giving for, at least, another four years! 

Monday will be a special day in the US - we get to hear more about $700 billion bank bailout package and other programs to meant to "shock the financial markets out of the recession".  President Obama is asking for a salary cap for bank CEO's- a "reasonable" $500,000 dollars!  That's much more than we need to run the entire US office for a year- including all our staff, audits, state registrations, utilities, mailings and on-the-water time!  But I'm sure it's a drastic pay cut for some. 

In the midst of bailing out banks, automobile manufacturers and any number of industries that made bad financial decisions for which we have to pay- who bails out the whales? Like all businesses, non-profits are being hit hard - and understandably.  If I have to choose between paying bills and donating money, I'm going to go with paying bills too.  However non-profits are also businesses: they are businesses whose income goes directly back into their missions; they are businesses that employ lots of people,  use the post office, order from paper supply companies, pay utilities, and provide the same economic support that other businesses do.  The difference is where their money goes--they do not make profits for the benefit of a few shareholders--- and where the money comes from. 

Our money comes from two main sources- grants and donations.  And like everyone else in the world, Foundations have taken a huge hit in the stock market and many are reducing, or even temporarily stopping, their giving.  People don't have a lot of extra income for donations.  I talk to friends that work at other non-profits that have been laid off, or have been told they will be taking pay cuts.  Non-profits aren't part of the bail out plan.  Yet it's not really about "us" the business, or as employees, that I worry---- but more for the whales which we represent.  Without groups working to protect them, what happens?  WDCS isn't a luxury, we are an important part of the economy, and, more importantly, the watch dogs of the marine environment. 

I have worked harder on issues in the last four years than ever before- securing protection from vessel strikes and entanglement to critically endangered right whales, working with whale watch companies to increase education and safe operations around whales, developing programs to reduce the impacts of climate change.  And I feel great about what we have accomplished but fear for what will happen without groups like WDCS.  And the more I thought about it- the more I realized how lucky we are- we have more than a bail out plan- we have support from people that care- we have tens of thousands of people that have joined WDCS and entrusted us as their watch dog group.  So I thank you.  On Monday, I will find out who is bailing out the banks- but tonight- I know who has our back-you do and I appreciate it. 

Dear
President Obama (that feels so good to “say”!)

I cried today as you took the
oath of Office of the President of the United States. Tears of joy. I am proud to be an American- no caveats as
there have been in the past- just proud. I am hopeful.

What I heard you today say is this:

Everyone
matters, no job is too small
Change is
possible though not necessarily easy nor instantaneous
We must
work together for change
We can
overcome any obstacle by working together

I have renewed hope
for our country, for the world, and for the animals inhabiting the oceans oblivious
to the imaginary lines drawn by mankind. We can end the human-induced threats faced by
whales and dolphins from whaling to vessel strikes and entanglements. Not today – it may take years- but we can do
it. Every job at WDCS matters, every volunteer matters, every supporter
matters- as a Team, we can do it and we will.
Thank you for being honest with us – for telling us that the road will not be an easy one-
and each and every one of us needs to step up to the plate. And thank you for reminding us that YES, WE CAN! We can make a difference and we
will continue to do so.

And now I say- YES WE WILL make a difference. Thank you President Obama,


A proud American

Politics is not what I signed up for when I started, as an intern in a marine mammal course, way back when ---- in the dark ages. I had an undergraduate degrees in Biology and Chemistry and was taking grad classes - which is how I ended up with the marine mammal internship (actually, it was because they cancelled the art class I originally signed up for but I digress). I went on the boat - fell in love - and never looked back. I was going to do research on whales, respond to strandings, study whales, learn about them, and be a scientist. I wasn’t going to play politics, learn about legal issues, and certainly not play a game of semantics. But in walks the Bush Administration and life changes.

For the past eight years (though it seems so much longer) I have watched the integrity of science and the environmental legislation in the US erode like the beaches around me. Yet no one can make it sound better than the Bush Administration- the era of the sound-bite. It started way back when Bush was first in office (for the sake of accuracy, I can not say “elected”). There was the “Data Quality Act” passed in 2001. That sounds nice, doesn’t it? Making sure the science is “sound”. Reality is a bit different from the sound-bite though. The Data Quality Act (DQA) was a two sentence rider on a spending bill at the request of corporate lobbyists. It makes it difficult for federal scientists to challenge any corporate claims (from drug companies claims to health impacts from pollution). It made it difficult for me to get a map published in 2007 which showed where whales were hit by boats off Cape Cod. Because the data hadn’t yet been “vetted” by federal officials, the map couldn’t be used in a book. It didn’t matter that the carcasses were necropsied and showed trauma from vessel strikes, or that one of the strikes was witnessed, it only mattered that federal agencies couldn’t confirm it because of the DQA (it’s been over a year and those data are still not released - takes about three years now, apparently).

Then, in 2003, there was the increased “need” for Homeland Security which was the excuse to exempt military exercises from the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act. In 2004, the Bush Administration upped the ante to protect us against terrorism by allowing federal agencies to “conceal sensitive information” required by the National Environmental Protection Act. This, of course, was going to protect us from terrorists that might be hiding in federally protected woodlands. By allowing commercial logging, those pesky terrorists couldn’t hide amongst the old growth trees.

Back to whales - I have spent the better part of the past eight years watching North Atlantic right whales die, one by one, from vessel strike and entanglements. I have watched hard working federal employees trying to do their job to protect right whales as they pounded their heads against the Bush Administration wall. I watched the World Shipping Council have more influence over a rule to protect right whales than any environmental group or federal employee. I watched the rule get released, finally, from the grip of the Bush Administration - only after multiple legal challenges thanks to the Humane Society of the United States, Defenders of Wildlife, Ocean Conservancy and WDCS.

And now, with literally only weeks left in office, the Bush Administration has a parting gift for wildlife - a final attack on the Endangered Species Act - all in the name of “streamlining” it. And, you may have guessed by now, the streamlining serves industry well, but is to the determinant of endangered species. On December 11th, the Department of Interior announced the passage of a rule to modify the requirements of the Endangered Species Act. The changes would allow agencies to permit potentially harmful actions that could impact endangered species and their habitats without consulting with federal wildlife experts.

Most of these actions require a 30 day “cooling off” period which means we still have another five days for this Administration to “streamline”, “protect us”, or “ensure quality” at the expense of endangered species and environmental protection. Dear President Elect Obama - all I want for Christmas is this - I spend less thinking that the status quo in environmental protection is a success - and more time being a biologist. 


Why do you care about what I have to say? Because I sign your paycheck. Well, obviously it’s not my signature on everyone’s check but under the signature you’ll see "RAS", my initials. My initials are on your check because I was smart enough, many years ago, to invest in a banking scheme as to where I get a percentage of all issued paychecks. Of course, it’s only for vested full-time employees of corporations which employ more than 25 people, so perhaps there are a few checks I’m not on- Go ahead, and don’t believe me? Go look. I’ll wait.

What do you mean you don’t see it? But I said it in a definitive statement. I substantiated what I said; therefore it must be true, right? I bet, at least someone, actually thought it might be true. Trust me, if I had set up such a sweet deal with a bank I wouldn’t be sitting in the dungeon (my basement office) writing it on a blog - perhaps I’d be blogging from my own island in the Pacific. My point being, when someone says something as fact - someone else believes it. No questions, it’s just the way it is. However, my degrees are in science - scientists are trained that nothing is absolute- absolutely nothing (and therein lies the irony). None of that seemed to be a problem until I dipped my toe(s) into the policy arena. Scientists don’t write policy, and for good reason- it would never get done because there would always be some looming question and “what if” scenarios. Policies are rules- fairly black and white- “don’t hit a whale”, “slow down to 7 knots when you’re within 500 meters”. Scientists would say “we think that 7 knots is a speed where the whale appears to have a reduced reaction to the approaching vessel but we haven’t taken acoustic considerations into account……”

Commercial industries (shipping, fishing, energy facilities, etc) aren’t scientists. Things are pretty clear to them- “building an offshore energy facility will not have an impact on the marine environment”, “We can’t slow to 10kts, it’s a safety hazard”, “we can’t fish with sinking line, it won’t work”. End of story- just the way it is. Scientists say “According to our studies, we think that the construction will display animals” or “based on the best available data, 10kts is a speed where injuries are less likely to be fatal”. Always qualified, because it’s science and science has to be qualified.

Unfortunately, the folks that make policy, i.e. the elected officials, aren’t scientists either. What they hear is “we can’t” (said definitively”) and “we think” (said with some question).Guess who wins? Ding, ding, ding- we have a winner! Yes, industry. It doesn’t matter if they don’t have science behind them (why would they?), it just matters that they say something as fact, so it is. There is no way, any credible scientist, including myslef, will ever stop qualifying data. Yet, we do need to be clearer about what that means and better at presenting more forceful arguments to policy makers, and poking more holes in the arguments made by industries. That’s much of my job now- reviewing data to support conservation policy and poking holes in counter proposals from industries. It may not sound like fun, but it can be rewarding, and it is incredibly important. I spent the better part of yesterday going through an industry proposal and the rush of instantaneous gratification I got from using science to take apart their claims and demonstrate the further need for more protective measures was……… a feeling I probably shouldn’t be blogging about. It was a good day.

And seriously, go look at your check…………………………………..