In 1978 the Supreme Court ruled that the Endangered Species Act barred the Tennessee Valley Authority from completing its almost-built, $120 million Tellico project because the project would destroy the habitat of the snail darter, a 3-inch long fish. Project supporters were outraged and claimed that the act was inflexible, prohibiting any balancing of the benefits of protection with the costs of compliance. In this book, Steven Yaffee examines the...