Opinion
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Congressional Review of Rulemaking Begins
Opinion -Though little noticed at the time, the 104th Congress did succeed in passing legislation--later signed into law by President Clinton--that holds out the real prospect of a vastly improved regulatory climate in the years to come. -
Controversy Erupts Over PCBs in the Great Lakes
Opinion -EPA and the state of Michigan are locked in an increasingly bitter battle over whether public health officials of the upper Midwestern state should issue a special health advisory warning residents of possible dangers emanating from minute residues of -
‘. . . the Most Massive Abuse of Science I Have Seen.’
Opinion -Putting science in the service of a pre-determined political agenda has become business as usual in Washington. The consequences of this institutional dishonesty have been devastating. -
Panel Finds Environmental Education Lacking in Science
Opinion -A report issued April 2 by a panel of scientists, economists, and educators concludes that many environmental education materials used in the nation's schools do not give students enough science and economics to enable them to understand the complex -
Sea Grant Releases Dioxin Study
Opinion -A new study conducted by Richard E. -
Illinois’ Bald Eagle Count Soars
Opinion -The once-endangered bald eagle is continuing its remarkable comeback in Illinois, with a 42 percent increase in this winter’s population. The Illinois Natural Resources Department counted a record 2,459 bald eagles in the annual mid-winter survey. -
Water Policy Remains Unresolved International Issue
Opinion -Californians are not the only ones wrestling with the age-old question of water. -
Citing Lack of Data, EPA Calls for More Study of Endocrine Receptors
Opinion -In its first evaluation of the scientific research on the effects of endocrine disruptors on human health and the environment, EPA has determined that the controversial subject warrants further study. -
CAFE Standards Issue Resurfaces on Capitol Hill
Opinion -In a bid to preempt regulatory action on the part of the U.S. -
Air Pollution and Asthma: Look Again
Opinion -The disturbing spread of asthma in Europe and the U.S. over the last several decades has prompted many observers to see a link between this chronic and debilitating disease and high levels of air pollution. -
AFL-CIO Breaks With Administration on Climate Change Treaty
Opinion -In a major setback for the Clinton administration's climate change policies, the Executive Committee of the AFL-CIO has declared its opposition to a proposed treaty, currently under negotiation, that would impose legally binding limits on emissions of -
If You Love Our Children, It’s Time to Find Alternatives to Public Schools
Opinion -The country's growing private school voucher movement owes its birth and a large part of its success to J. Patrick Rooney, chairman emeritus of Golden Rule Insurance Company. -
Community-Based Schools: Educationally and Economically Essential
Opinion -African-American children in public schools are failing in record numbers, crippling their futures and limiting their careers. For some African-American parents, doing nothing about the problem was not an option. -
Unions the Major Obstacle to Market-Oriented Reforms
Opinion -Those familiar with the school reform movement, and with this newspaper, are keenly aware of the key role--sometimes positive, more recently quite negative--that teacher unions have played in school reform debates nationwide. -
Six Myths of School Finance Reform
Opinion -The Illinois General Assembly is debating whether and how to change the way the state finances its public schools. -
Where High Expectations Are Met … And More
Opinion -Twenty-five years ago, Marva Collins left a public school teaching position to open her own school, in her own home. -
PAVE-ing a Road to Parental Choice
Opinion -Michael Joyce is president of the Milwaukee-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation. The Foundation is devoted to strengthening American democratic capitalism and the institutions, principles, and values which sustain and nurture it. -
This Environmentalist Opposes More Strict Air Quality Standards
Opinion -The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed lowering the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone from 0.12 parts per million (averaged over one hour) to 0.08 (averaged over eight hours). -
Private Schools: Saving Illinois Taxpayers $2 Billion a Year
Opinion -Thank the Lord for the Illinois parents who send their children to parochial or private schools. By keeping their students out of tax-supported government schools, those parents save Illinois taxpayers over $2 billion a year. -
Vermont Parents Sue to Include Religious Schools in Choice Program
Opinion -For more than a century, Vermont has practiced a unique school choice program called “tuitioning.”The practice arose because many small communities in the state did not have their own high school and were not members of high school districts. -
Union Nixes Plan to Reward Good Schools
Opinion -A program adopted by the Philadelphia school board to link teacher performance reviews and pay raises to student achievement was denounced by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers as “vindictive” and “school-bashing. -
School Privitization Needs Better Contracts
Opinion -When the Baltimore, Maryland public school system cancelled its management contract with Educational Alternatives Inc., opponents of the arrangement lost no time in dancing on the grave of school privatization. -
Opinion Polls Show Support for School Choice
Opinion -A recent nationwide survey has found widespread public support for educational choice, confirming the findings of state-specific polls but contradicting two heavily publicized surveys conducted in early 1996. -
Nebraska Rejects Funding Initiatives
Opinion -Nebraska voters on November 5 defeated two initiatives that promised property tax relief and more equitable funding of public schools.