Faculty Research Fellows Kaufman and Dietze Featured in BU Today Article on Endangered Species Act

Pardee Center Faculty Research Fellows Prof. Les Kaufman (Department of Biology) and Prof. Michael Dietze (Department of Earth & Environment) were featured in a BU Today story about the Trump administration’s recently announced changes to the Endangered Species Act, which allows species to be reclassified from “endangered” to “threatened” far more easily. The changes will also allow for expanded oil and gas drilling in areas where protected species live.

“The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is such a key part of US environmental legislation that its weakening is literally going to result in species being driven to extinction,” said Dietze. “If we look at all the plants and noninsect animals on the planet, it’s estimated that one in four species—a quarter of the world’s biodiversity—is threatened by human activity.”

“I am most concerned about the little things—the small, the inconspicuous, and the dull-colored … however inconvenient, unpleasant, or seemingly purposeless they may be to the ignorant, these are the rank and file nuts and bolts of the biosphere and we cannot arbitrarily eliminate them without endangering ourselves,” said Kaufman. 

Read the full story here.