Van Susteren should be proud of her new eyes
For two weeks, the world took a break from the traumas and tribulations taking place in the Middle East to watch the Olympics. Tobbagins rather than Talibans ruled the headlines and the Enron scandal took a backseat to the Russian-Canadian ice skating scandal.
Now that the closing ceremonies have ended, Salt Lake City has returned to its conservative Mormon ways and the politicians and environmentalists have returned to their heated debates.
During the weekend, President George Bush renewed his campaign to drill for oil in a 1.5 million acre section of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. As an effort to reduce the dependency on foreign oil, Bush sees this time as better than any to gain support for his drilling, which opponents believe will be detrimental to the Alaskan wildlife.
In an effort to make peace with environmentalists by showing his “green side”, Bush stood on the White House lawn on Monday with three fuel-efficient hydrogen powered cars. The same Bush that ridiculed Al Gore during the presidential election for supporting the hybrid vehicles now endorses them as “good news for our environment.”
Meanwhile, Democrats are proposing a bill that will increase fuel economy by 30 percent. This means sports utility vehicles will have to raise their automobile mileage from 20 miles per gallon to 35 miles per gallon. General Motors Corp. and union workers already have held rallies against the bill, claiming it will result in the loss of 100,000 American jobs if passed.
For as long as energy conservation and protecting our environment has been an issue, those directly involved have made it a downright battle. Democrats and Republicans have used environmental issues to help support their elections as well as backlash each other. Tree-hugging environmentalists and waste-producing corporations constantly scorn each other like dueling siblings.
Yet, the future of our environment remains in danger. In the next 20 years U.S. oil consumption is projected to increase by about one-third while the demand for electricity rises by about 45 percent. Countries such as China, India and Pakistan currently are encountering toxic poisoning due to electronic waste the United States has dumped on them. Since the Endangered Species Act took effect in 1973, approximately 1,250 species have been listed as threatened or endangered.
I could go on forever with statistics that stress how much further we have to go, but no matter how much progress is made; it is a never-ending crisis. However, as long as it continues to be a battle between political parties and organizations, the real battle against pollution will remain in the shadows.
Anyone with eyes can see the waste in our streets, anyone with a nose can smell the odor flowing from our polluted Mississippi River and no one who has lived through a sweltering, humid summer in Baton Rouge can deny global warming is a severe problem.
It is time we all work together rather than against each other to save our environment from the damage we have caused. As cliché as it is, this is the only planet we have.
Van Susteren should be proud of her new eyes
For two weeks, the world took a break from the traumas and tribulations taking place in the Middle East to watch the Olympics. Tobbagins rather than Talibans ruled the headlines and the Enron scandal took a backseat to the Russian-Canadian ice skating scandal.
Now that the closing ceremonies have ended, Salt Lake City has returned to its conservative Mormon ways and the politicians and environmentalists have returned to their heated debates.
During the weekend, President George Bush renewed his campaign to drill for oil in a 1.5 million acre section of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. As an effort to reduce the dependency on foreign oil, Bush sees this time as better than any to gain support for his drilling, which opponents believe will be detrimental to the Alaskan wildlife.
In an effort to make peace with environmentalists by showing his “green side”, Bush stood on the White House lawn on Monday with three fuel-efficient hydrogen powered cars. The same Bush that ridiculed Al Gore during the presidential election for supporting the hybrid vehicles now endorses them as “good news for our environment.”
Meanwhile, Democrats are proposing a bill that will increase fuel economy by 30 percent. This means sports utility vehicles will have to raise their automobile mileage from 20 miles per gallon to 35 miles per gallon. General Motors Corp. and union workers already have held rallies against the bill, claiming it will result in the loss of 100,000 American jobs if passed.
For as long as energy conservation and protecting our environment has been an issue, those directly involved have made it a downright battle. Democrats and Republicans have used environmental issues to help support their elections as well as backlash each other. Tree-hugging environmentalists and waste-producing corporations constantly scorn each other like dueling siblings.
Yet, the future of our environment remains in danger. In the next 20 years U.S. oil consumption is projected to increase by about one-third while the demand for electricity rises by about 45 percent. Countries such as China, India and Pakistan currently are encountering toxic poisoning due to electronic waste the United States has dumped on them. Since the Endangered Species Act took effect in 1973, approximately 1,250 species have been listed as threatened or endangered.
I could go on forever with statistics that stress how much further we have to go, but no matter how much progress is made; it is a never-ending crisis. However, as long as it continues to be a battle between political parties and organizations, the real battle against pollution will remain in the shadows.
Anyone with eyes can see the waste in our streets, anyone with a nose can smell the odor flowing from our polluted Mississippi River and no one who has lived through a sweltering, humid summer in Baton Rouge can deny global warming is a severe problem.
It is time we all work together rather than against each other to save our environment from the damage we have caused. As cliché as it is, this is the only planet we have.