The endangered species act…

The endangered species act provides protection to a variety of species, including both the actual endangered ones and non endangered species that share similar habitats. Removing these protections would be catastrophic for thousands of species and habitats. This would also directly impact human welfare, as these protected spaces are providing many important ecosystem services to us. In the face of climate change, nature and protected spaces are working to mitigate flooding by absorbing more rainfall (especially compared to impermeable surfaces like asphalt), sequestering carbon in plant roots and overall biomass, and acting to cool the surrounding landscape by as much as 10 degrees through vegetation coverage (which can have direct cost savings to local communities). Protected natural spaces are also important for human social and psychological health, and the presence of endangered species are often the triggers for creating these spaces. Removing these extremely important protections will only serve to line the pockets of rich developers and most Ontarians will never see a single cent of benefit from this. Development must become more sustainable and work with the environment rather than in direct violation of it. This will be a giant step backwards