[MCN] PNAS paper reviewed in Science: Endangered species not economic enemy

[Lance Olsen]

Study finds criticisms of Endangered Species Act unfounded
http://news.sciencemag.org/environment/2015/12/study-finds-criticisms-endangered-species-act-unfounded

Excerpts:

At the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) 
headquarters in Falls Church, Virginia, sits a 
treasure trove of data. As part of a program 
called TAILS (Advanced Tracking and Integrated 
Logging System), FWS keeps records of 
consultations between its field agents and other 
federal agencies whose proposed projects might 
affect federally protected species. These 
consultations, mandated by Section 7 of the 
Endangered Species Act (ESA), document which 
federal agencies have authorized or funded 
projects-such as new oil and gas drilling-and 
whether a given project poses any risk to 
threatened or endangered species. Gary Frazer, 
assistant director for endangered species at FWS, 
calls the TAILS data "pretty dry bureaucratic 
stuff."

But Ya-Wei Li, senior director of endangered 
species conservation at the Washington, 
D.C.-based nonprofit Defenders of Wildlife, 
didn't think so.

He and his colleagues hoped to find out whether 
common criticisms of Section 7-that the 
consultation process is onerous, it takes too 
long, and it's bad for the economy-were borne out 
in the data. The results of their 
year-and-a-half-long analysis, out today in 
the Proceedings of the National Academy of 
Sciences, suggest that many of the reproaches of 
the process are unfounded. 
<<http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/12/01/1516938112.abstract>>

FWS is frequently called to testify before 
Congress about the economic impact of the ESA, 
and lawmakers have floated several proposals to 
change it by exempting certain actions from 
review or restricting its funding. The act "is a 
very public controversial piece of legislation 
that goes before Congress every session with 
proposals to revise it, and that's because of the 
perception about how it's applied," says Mark 
Schwartz, a conservation biologist at the 
University of California, Davis.

The analysis shows that the act "hasn't been 
killing the economy, hasn't stopped jobs," Li 
says. "The empirical evidence and analysis shows 
us that what some people thought was true is not."

The paper may or may not alleviate the tension 
between FWS and Congress, but it will at least 
help the public see the locations of proposed 
projects, such as North Dakota, where oil and gas 
development is now a booming industry. Defenders 
of Wildlife is publishing an interactive tool 
that allows anyone to investigate the 
consultation data and see what species are most 
affected by projects in a specific state, for 
example.
-- 
================================================================
The Wall Street Journal, DECEMBER 3, 2011
OPINION
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203833104577071901186892744.html?mod=WSJ_hps_sections_opinion
China's Hard Landing

Excerpts:
"Now comes the hangover. Š. The country is 
littered with luxurious county government 
offices, ghost cities of empty apartment blocks, 
unsafe high-speed rail lines and crumbling 
highways to nowhere."

"Millions of luxury apartments are vacant, even 
as there is a shortage of affordable housing for 
the poor."

"Property construction became 'the most important 
sector in the universe,' in the words of UBS 
economist Jonathan Anderson."

"As with most property busts, transactions dried 
up, followed by a free fall in prices. Land 
prices were down 60% year on year in September. 
Property developers are slashing prices of new 
homes to stave off bankruptcy."

"There is no easy way to avoid the bust that is 
coming. The silver lining is that China's 
increasingly state-led growth model will be 
discredited, and a debate will begin on 
restarting the reforms that stalled in the 
mid-2000s. A financial sector that allocates 
credit based on politics rather than price 
signals led China into this mess. Popular 
pressure to dismantle crony capitalism is 
buildingŠ"

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203833104577071901186892744.html?mod=WSJ_hps_sections_opinion
=================================================================
Financial Times,  September 10,  2014
COMMENT
China faces Japan-style debt woes: charts

Excerpts:
"China's development unfortunately has largely 
followed the script written by Japan some 30 
years ago.
"Like Japan, China's... government resorted to 
stimulus including loose monetary policy and 
supportive housing policy, to hold up growth; 
however, this unintentionally caused a property 
asset inflation, often funded by debt."

"The Chinese government is currently conducting 
mini-stimulus to hold up growth, while allowing 
bad debt in the financial system to worsen."
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