Now that leftists have their way and we have cordial relations with the dictatorial, communist, drug-smuggling goverment of Cuba, they are still not satisfied.  They are pleased that trade and relations will help prop up the (Raúl) Castro dictatorship but worried that economic ties will hurt the environment.

Dr. Angulo, a senior marine scientist at the University of Havana, is... worried about the effects that a flood of American tourists and American dollars might have on this country’s pristine coral reefs, mangrove forests, national parks and organic farms — environmental assets that are a source of pride here.

I agree with Comrade Angulo.  Americans should stay away and keep their dollars at home.  Right now I'm sure Cuban supermarket shelves are overflowing with organic produce (probably just like Whole Foods!), but what will happen when the Americans come?  (And by the way, shouldn't that be "persongrove" rather than "mangrove" forests?)

In March, a delegation from the U.S. Agriculture Coalition for Cuba, an agribusiness group that includes Cargill, the National Grain and Feed Association, the National Chicken Council and other companies and organizations, flew to Havana to meet with Cuban officials.

Note they met with "Cuban officials," not "Cuban businessmen" (who don't really exist).  Big business couldn't be more delighted and is rushing in to support the Communist government and get some cheap slave labor.

And cruise ship companies and hotel chains like Marriott and Hiltonhave indicated their enthusiasm. “I can’t stop thinking about it,” Frank Del Rio, chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, said in an interview. “Cuba and the cruise industry are just a match made in heaven, waiting to happen.”

"And if you look on our left, ladies and gentlemen, you will see the notorious prison, where political prisoners are still tortured on a daily basis.  And on our right you can see the drug-smuggler boats coming into port."

How fully the country will pursue development is likely to be a leading topic at the Seventh Congress of the Cuban Communist Party, to be held next year, said Dan Whittle, a lawyer and senior director of the Cuba program for the Environmental Defense Fund.

Radical environmentalists and Communists.  Wait, which one is which?

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, says “I don’t think they’re so lustful of development that they will just roll over and completely prostitute themselves to whomever comes by with a checkbook,”

Don't you just love the language of liberals?  Developing business is akin to "lust" and "prostitution."  What about Senator Whitehouse's "lust" to spend other people's money? 

There are some endangered species that environmentalists in the article didn't mention:

1) The free speech advocate: People are still jailed in Cuba for exercising free speech.  Try writing a blog critical of the government, and see what happens to you.

2) The person of faith: People are still persecuted for practicing their religions.

3) The small businessman: There are a few small efforts to let people sell things, but the small business class was exterminated by Castro and is still underground.

4) The undocumented emigrant: People can still wind up in jail for trying to leave Cuba without permission.

So you see the irony here.  Leftist environmentalists are worried about the effects that trade will have on "the environment" while the people of Cuba are still suffering massively under a dictatorship.  It's like looking at the leaves while somehow totally ignoring the trees and the forest.  And by the way, management of the environment under Communism is very poorly done, at best.  Try to find Lake Baikal on a map, and you'll see why.

This article was produced by NewsMachete.com, the conservative news site.