Political Quotes

“I want to read portions of a proposed regulation found on page 173 of the January 3, 2000, issue of the Federal Register: ``[I]t is important that individuals alter their daily behaviors,'' ``and for governmental entities to seek programmatic incentives, public education, regulatory changes, or other approaches.'' ``Daily behaviors'' are further defined as ``Individual decisions about energy consumption for heating, travel, and other purposes;'' and ``individual maintenance of residences or gardens.'' Those passages come directly from a ``4(d)'' Endangered Species Act regulation for the Pacific Northwest proposed by the National Marine Fisheries Service. The rule states flatly these are examples of activities that could kill salmon or steelhead through water, air, and ocean pollution, and that NMFS ``might or might not'' seek to regulate them as such under the rule. Taken literally, if these rules are enacted as written, National Marine Fisheries Service could regulate how often individuals drive their cars, where and how property owners could plant or fertilize their lawns, gardens, or farm crops. They could dictate the content of county zoning, public works, building, and road ordinances, and possibly even suggest limits on the setting of thermostats in homes or public school classrooms, or the operation of public transit buses--all to protect salmon.…”