Protection for whales thought to be extinct

[Doc Intrepid]

Every once in awhile a step is taken in the right direction:
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/06/17/right.whales.reut/index.html

 

[dlndavid]

I love it, a judge has "ordered" our legislators do something.

 

[Bill51]

I love it, a judge has "ordered" our legislators do something.

Sounds a little backwards to me, but I just like reading the real Constitution.

 

[Walter]

I love it, a judge has "ordered" our legislators do something.

Reread the article. A judge cannot order the legislative branch to enact legislation. The judge ordered the National Marine Fisheries Service to develop plans that enforce already enacted legislation.

 

[dlndavid]

I stand corrected, thanks Walter. A judge has ordered a government agency to do something, that's still funny to me. I am all for the protection of these whales, and I will stop there.

 

[vladimir]

A judge has ordered a government agency to do something, that's still funny to me.

If a government agency is not following the law, what do you think the judiciary's role should be?

 

[Bill51]

If a government agency is not following the law, what do you think the judiciary's role should be?

It’s pretty funny coming from the same judge that in 2000 issued a permanent injunction banning the federal government from prosecuting or even investigating doctors in California that were violating federal laws. He’s also the same judge that ruled against UPS for implementing more stringent safety rules than federally required laws concerning one-eyed drivers of large trucks – for the first time in history determining that federal safety laws are a ceiling, not a floor of compliance. Or his attempt to determine that it’s illegal for a parent to inquire about the schools of an area before they buy a house there because that implies discrimination and will artificially segregate the schools.

In this particular case, which most certainly will be overturned as many of Alsup’s are, he arbitrarily determined that the scientists brought in by a one special interest group are more qualified than the government scientists working on the case. It’s also a political decision handed down at this time even though there has been no change in the NMFS plans for the Pacific Right Whales since 1994, and there were no complaints about the compliance prior to 2001. If this were a real case of as the judge declared, government being arbitrary and abusing it’s right of discretion, why hasn’t a single Congressman or Senator raised this objection on behalf of the people during a funding hearing for NMFS since 1994?

This is a case where publicity may be the prime motivator of the plaintiff. The plaintiff has spent years trying to get the Pacific Right Whales designated a separate species despite all scientific evidence, and they have repeatedly filed suit against all attempts by the NMFS to designate a critical protected habitat claiming it wasn’t large enough each time. It’s not a case of the NMFS following the law, it’s a case of the NMFS being sued every time they attempted to follow the law based on the government’s scientific research.

 

[dlndavid]

vladimir: see post above.

Bill 51, nice post, thanks, very informative.