Red
Well-Known Member
The US Secretary of the Interior is so impressed by the recent announcement that scientists have used “de-extinction” to bring back the long extinct Dire Wolf, that he wants to eliminate the Endangered Species Act altogether: we can just bring them back to life!
The Trump administration wants to forgo endangered species protections—and is hinging its argument on a wild vision of the future straight out of a science fiction novel.
This week, a biotechnology company claimed to have brought back the long-extinct dire wolf using new gene editing technology, and the breakthrough has Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum thinking outside of the box.
Why protect endangered species, he argued, when you can use “innovation” to simply bring them back from the dead?
On Monday, Time magazine published a revelatory report detailing Colossal Biosciences’ supposed successful bid to create three dire wolf puppies through gene editing. The Dallas-based company has named the pups Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi, and have touted their future aspirations to bring back versions, not exact replicas, of other long-extinct animals like the dodo and the mammoth.
Their efforts did not go unnoticed by Burgum, who cited the claimed revival of the species that went extinct over 10,000 years ago as proof that “it has been innovation — not regulation — that has spawned American greatness.”
The Department of the Interior is excited about the potential of ‘de-extinction’ technology and how it may serve broader purposes beyond the recovery of lost species, including strengthening biodiversity protection efforts and helping endangered or at-risk species,” Burgum wrote in an X post Monday.
“The Endangered Species List has become like the Hotel California: once a species enters, they never leave … This is because the status quo is focused on regulation more than innovation,” he continued. “It’s time to fundamentally change how we think about species conservation. Going forward, we must celebrate removals from the endangered list - not additions. The only thing we’d like to see go extinct is the need for an endangered species list to exist.
“We need to continue improving recovery efforts to make that a reality, and the marvel of ‘de-extinction’ technology can help forge a future where populations are never at risk,” he added.
The Secretary of the Interior is wrong:
people.com

The problem with the Secretary’s conclusion is that scientists did not de-extinct the Dire Wolf. They are not actually Dire Wolves at all, and science has not de-extincted any species:
thebulletin.org
So, the Interior Secretary is full of it. Leave the Endangered Species Act alone. We are undergoing the 6th great extinction event in the history of life on Earth.
The Trump administration wants to forgo endangered species protections—and is hinging its argument on a wild vision of the future straight out of a science fiction novel.
This week, a biotechnology company claimed to have brought back the long-extinct dire wolf using new gene editing technology, and the breakthrough has Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum thinking outside of the box.
Why protect endangered species, he argued, when you can use “innovation” to simply bring them back from the dead?
On Monday, Time magazine published a revelatory report detailing Colossal Biosciences’ supposed successful bid to create three dire wolf puppies through gene editing. The Dallas-based company has named the pups Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi, and have touted their future aspirations to bring back versions, not exact replicas, of other long-extinct animals like the dodo and the mammoth.
Their efforts did not go unnoticed by Burgum, who cited the claimed revival of the species that went extinct over 10,000 years ago as proof that “it has been innovation — not regulation — that has spawned American greatness.”
The Department of the Interior is excited about the potential of ‘de-extinction’ technology and how it may serve broader purposes beyond the recovery of lost species, including strengthening biodiversity protection efforts and helping endangered or at-risk species,” Burgum wrote in an X post Monday.
“The Endangered Species List has become like the Hotel California: once a species enters, they never leave … This is because the status quo is focused on regulation more than innovation,” he continued. “It’s time to fundamentally change how we think about species conservation. Going forward, we must celebrate removals from the endangered list - not additions. The only thing we’d like to see go extinct is the need for an endangered species list to exist.
“We need to continue improving recovery efforts to make that a reality, and the marvel of ‘de-extinction’ technology can help forge a future where populations are never at risk,” he added.
The Secretary of the Interior is wrong:
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After Dire Wolves Are Resurrected, Trump Administration Says U.S. Endangered Species List Should 'Go Extinct'
After biotechnology and genetic engineering company Colossal Biosciences said it successfully created three dire wolf puppies earlier this week, the Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum shared his thoughts on resurrecting other extinct animals — and is reconsidering the endangered species list.

The problem with the Secretary’s conclusion is that scientists did not de-extinct the Dire Wolf. They are not actually Dire Wolves at all, and science has not de-extincted any species:

Dire wolf, or Colossal misrepresentation?
A biotechnology company called Colossal Biosciences claims to have resurrected the dire wolf, a species that went extinct over 10,000 years ago.

So, the Interior Secretary is full of it. Leave the Endangered Species Act alone. We are undergoing the 6th great extinction event in the history of life on Earth.
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