Making the Short List

There are some changes in the works at the Department of the Interior for the Endangered Species Act, according to a recent AP story which relies on "a number of draft department documents released by environmentalists."

The opening paragraph of the story:

WASHINGTON (AP)—The Interior Department is considering a broad revamping of how it protects animals and plants in danger of extinction, including changes that critics contend will reduce the number of species that will be saved.

Note the use of the future tense, not the conditional. The sheer act of listing species, it seems, is now sufficient to save them. Neat!

For more on endangered species, check out Ron Bailey's "Shoot, Shovel, and Shut Up."