Only in California would the issue of a rodent-sized creature called a Pika, apparently a runty relative of the rabbit, would the nation be distracted, I hope humorously so during a major economic crisis, because some conservationists say the Pika may soon be extinct because of global warming and they want it placed on the endangered species list.

There must be some reason why stories of this type surface in these times, especially from California which is on the verge of bankruptcy;  it must be entertainment — because we certainly need the levity.

The Government doesn’t have enough on its plate these days without the Center for Biological Diversity, (what the hell is this?) suing the US Department of Fish and Wildlife to grant endangered species status to the Pika.

Apparently this rodent has a thick fur and is unable to survive in temperatures much warmer than 80 degrees.

Now there is a guy by the name of Shaye Wolf, a biologist with the group that is suing for the protection of the Pika who says, “The things that we need to do to protect the Pika will also protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, our own quality of life and improve our economy.”

Now if I didn’t think this concept was so ludicrous , but feasible in this land of kooks, I wouldn’t go on.

You see if such a suit succeeds, you’re talking about the courts imposing a policy agenda essentially making illegal the source of the vast majority of our energy and therefore economic activity.

Restrictions on energy production would mandate a sharp cut in green house gases and a regulation of carbon in the atmosphere, forcing businesses, manufacturers and energy producers to shut down across the country.

Now the Pika partisans say that measures to protect the hamster-like animal would benefit humans as well.  They say a healthy species is an indicator of a healthy planet.

“The Pika is a canary in the coal mine for global warming,” said Wolf, “so declines of the Pika are an early warning of what’s to come if we don’t immediately reduce our green house gas pollution.”

As I see this issue  it is humor in one respect, but a possible train wreck waiting to happen if taken seriously.  As you may suspect, I am not a believer in global warming.

But let me make one thing clear, I have two bird feeders on the beach side of my house, which rodents also take advantage of, and for more than five years I have been hosting a family of Ospreys in two Norfolk Pines, providing both free room and board.

However, as for the Pika’s, I do have a solution, allow the conservationists to round up the rodents, send half to us here in Florida in the summer time, the rest to Alaska anytime, and give them a home on a glacier.