TRUMP AND TURTLES

 Recently, several newspapers as well as several conservation groups have reported that recent research has found no sea turtle nest on the beaches of Galveston and the adjoining peninsula.  Scientists attribute the lack of sea turtle nests to damage done to the Gulf of Mexico by the Horizon oil spill.  The absence of turtle nests is significant in that it is an indication of the ecological condition of the Gulf of Mexico.

Mr. Donald Trump strongly advocates abolishing those pesky regulations that are holding our economy back.  This, and his denial that global warming exists, is a view shared by other billionaire businessmen who care more about making a dollar than protecting the environment we all live in.  Donald Trump and other irresponsible industrialists claim that environmental regulations are holding our economy back.  

I suppose they want to return to the good old days when paper mills were able to use the Neches River as a giant sewer for their waste.  Perhaps they would like to return to the days when the Sabine River had so much mercury in it that it was dangerous to eat the fish you might catch there.  Without environmental regulations, what if we allow oil companies to cut corners and have another blowout in the Gulf?  I suppose Mr. Trump would say what’s the loss of a few pelicans, trout or turtles compared to letting oil companies make greater profits?  Obviously, Trump is more concerned with the profits made by BP, Shell Oil and others than he is whether or not the eco system which produces much of our seafood survives. 

I’ve always considered fishermen and hunters America’s best conservationists.  Unfortunately, too many of us in that category have lost sight of protecting the very thing which allows us to enjoy our hunting and fishing.  Instead, hunters are focused more on whether or not we will be able to keep semi-automatic weapons with 15 shot mags.  


Fellow sportsmen, it is time to wake up: Take a stand for preserving our ecology even if it sometimes discomforts those who would sacrifice it on the altar of profit.  If we don’t wake up, we could in the near future awaken to discover that we have no game to shoot with our nice weapons and no fish to catch on our shiny, offshore rigs.