Opinion
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EPA, Justice Department Score New Round of Enforcement Actions
Opinion -The U.S. Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency announced several new Clean Air and Clean Water fines during the month of October. -
Paper Companies to Pay $60 Million for Fox River Cleanup
Opinion -Two paper companies that discharged PCBs into northeast Wisconsin’s Fox River have agreed to pay $50 million toward the cleanup of the river’s headwaters. -
Ceaucescu: Father of Smart Growth
Opinion -Urban planning was a big part of Nickolae Ceaucescu’s “vision” of a better Romania for himself and his elite circle of friends. -
The Anti-Sprawl Movement: Anti-Minority and Anti-Immigrant
Opinion -August brought another unwelcome reminder of the elitist strains that infect the anti-sprawl movement. -
EPA Finalizes New Source Review Rules
Opinion -The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed adjustments to the New Source Review rules of the Clean Air Act have received final approval, acting EPA Administrator Marianne Horinko announced on August 27. -
Utah Governor Leavitt to Take Over EPA
Opinion -Three-term Utah Governor Mike Leavitt was nominated to serve as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency by President George W. Bush on August 12. Confirmation hearings were expected to begin in September. -
Did Environmental Regulations Cause Space Shuttle Tragedies?
Opinion -Most people can remember intimate details of what they were doing when they first heard the space shuttle Challenger had exploded. To compound the tragedy, millions of schoolchildren across the country watched the event in shocked amazement. -
Massachusetts Caught Cooking the Books
Opinion -The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is investigating Massachusetts for misleading the federal government about claimed reductions in automobile pollution. -
Federal Court Opens Roads in National Forests
Opinion -A federal judge has struck down a government-imposed ban on building new roads in a third of America’s national forests. -
Legal Battle Reopens Over Salmon, Dams
Opinion -On May 7, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon invalidated the National Marine Fisheries Service’s biological opinion that a variety of mitigation efforts would ensure the protection of endangered salmon. -
Ag Committee Sends Forest Bill to Full Senate
Opinion -The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee on July 24 approved and sent to the full Senate a forest management bill supported by the Bush administration. -
Air Quality in U.S. Continues to Improve
Opinion -The United States has made dramatic progress in reducing air pollution over the past few decades, and most American cities now enjoy relatively good air quality. -
Clear Skies Initiative Faces Stormy Future
Opinion -Congressmen on both sides of the aisle are predicting contentious deliberations over President George W. Bush’s Clear Skies Initiative. “None of the necessary consensus is in place to achieve a major change in the law,” said Rep. -
Colorado: Saving the Animals, Not the Bureaucrats
Opinion -When the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was passed in 1973, it represented the best intentions of man to fix mistakes of the past. -
Judge Holds Clinton EPA in Contempt of Court
Opinion -Federal District Judge Royce Lamberth on July 24 held the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in contempt of court for violating his order not to destroy computer files regarding rules enacted in the last days of the Clinton administration. -
Partnership for the West Builds Grassroots Army
Opinion -People in the West cherish simple values, says Jim Sims. They cherish economic freedom, local self-determination, sweat equity, and a deep commitment to the land. They are conservationists at heart. -
Power Companies Launch Bird-Protection Program
Opinion -A coalition of power companies is putting in place new voluntary guidelines for protecting migratory birds from electrocution and collisions with power lines. -
Sprawl and Obesity in Chicago: Why All the Fuss?
Opinion -It has always been difficult to make something out of nothing, but a new report linking America’s growing obesity problem with urban sprawl (suburban living) sets a new record for political spin. -
The Anti-Sprawl Movement: Anti-Minority and Anti-Immigrant?
Opinion -Next week will see another unwelcome reminder of the elitist strains that infect the anti-sprawl movement. The Center for Immigration Study, in association with a Web site called Sprawl City (www.sprawlcity. -
Fuels Treatment Is Not Sound Forest Management
Opinion -Professional foresters have a tendency to think every forest needs their tender loving care. Even young foresters who want to save old growth often agree many second-growth forests are overstocked and need thinning. -
EPA Uses Fishy Numbers to Justify Regs
Opinion -What is a fish worth? In Disney’s latest movie, “Finding Nemo,” a father clown fish valued his son so highly he was willing to risk life and limb (fin?) to rescue him. -
Lung Association Distorts Air Quality Data
Opinion -The American Lung Association’s (ALA) new study, State of the Air: 2003, gave a failing grade on air quality to more than half the nation’s counties. -
Forest Service Budget Pits Forest Management against Fire Suppression
Opinion -Ask any district ranger, or any on-the-ground Forest Service employee, and they will tell you the national forests are suffering from a severe budget crunch. Yet the Forest Service’s total budget increased from $3.2 billion in 1991 to $5. -
Wisconsin Legislature Rejects Land Purchases
Opinion -The Wisconsin legislature’s Joint Finance Committee has voted overwhelmingly to ignore the availability of state stewardship funds and forego buying private lands.