I received a flood of letters pointing out that the "Spotted Owl" is not a biologically endangered species, but inhabits a wide swath from British Columbia to Old Mexico in abundant numbers. A W.P. of Richmond, Ca., a professional forester of 20 years ex-perience, writes they are not limited to old growth and do better in young growth where both they and their food are more abundant. Right now they are having a ball with the mice that the people doing the surveys are offering them. The spotted owl, in fact, is anything but a threatened species in biological or even English terms. What the Green frauds have done is declared the "North-ern" Green Owl an endangered species, for when Congress legis-lated biology in the Endangered Species Act, it decreed "A 'species' includes any subspecies [my emphasis] of fish or wildlife or plants, and any distinct population segment of any species . . . that interbreeds in nature." Get it? The Secretary of the Interior thus defined a species as that distinct population that inhabits the old growth in a few counties; and
¾surprise!--it inhabits only the old growth in a few counties. [More: R.W. Bradford, "The Owls are not what they seem," Liberty, July 1991; Box 1167, Pt.Townsend, WA 98368.] If you have the political clout, you can have the daisies on your front lawn declared an endangered species (interbreeds in nature and forms a distinct subspecies defined by growing in your garden); then you can have your neigh-bor thrown in jail if his dog pees on them.Quite similarly, Lord Reilly of EPA could until recently declare almost anything as wetlands, needing virtually no other reason than that His Lordship felt moved to decree it. [More:
"The Swamp Thing," Reason, Apr. 1991.] In this case, however, such Ceausescu manners got more attention thanks to Policy Review, Reason, Wall. St. J., New American, and other rebellious serfs in His manor, and He was forced into a new federal defini-tion (peat, flooding, etc.) which, one hopes, no longer makes it possible to declare Death Valley a wetland area.
His Lordship also had to retreat on dioxin due to sustained pressure from scientists and an OSHA study published in the New Engl. J. Med (Jan. 91), which found that contact with dioxin (the "culprit" in Agent Orange and the Times Beach, Mo., evacuation) presents no significant risk to humans. "The EPA and industry are fighting and winning the campaign to let dioxin off the hook," wailed the Greenpests. "A frightening lesson in the triumph of economics over public health" (Greenpeace, May/Jun 1991).
In 1990, the following 13 generated more than 25% of their electricity by nuclear power: France (74.5%), Belgium (60.1%);
Hungary (51.4%); S. Korea (49.1%), Sweden (46%), Switzerland (42.6%), Spain (38.7%), Taiwan (38.3%), Finland (35%), Bulgaria (34.8%), former West Germany (33%), Czechoslovakia (28.4%), and Japan (26.2%). The US ranks 15th with 20.6% (increased from 19.1 in 1989), though in total output it is no. 1.
France is now leveling off as it approaches the originally planned point of 75% (considered insane 15 years ago), but the interesting country is Sweden. Three years ago I asked readers to watch the Swedes [AtE May 88], since they have no oil no gas, no coal, all hydro sites harnessed, and were suckered into voting for phasing out nuclear power between 1995 and 2010. Since then public opinion has changed. (Oct. 1990: Continue after 2010? Yes 53%, no 18%.) In June of this year the Swedish parliament approved a new plan abandoning the phase-out.
When sanctions were imposed on South Africa five years ago, I promised to renew all South African subscriptions without payment for the duration of this hypocritical policy toward a country granting full human rights only to whites, while the US was wooing countries granting human rights to nobody
¾including the (then) USSR and its colonies, China, Syria, Iraq (at the time), Saudi Arabia, Ceausescu's Romania, and more of such repressive filth. Welcome back to regular subscriber status! You will be notified when your former renewal month comes up again. A copy of these lines, with citation, pasted on a postcard sent from South Africa to Rep. Pat Schroeder and Ron Dellums (US House of Representatives, Wash. DC 20105) would be appreciated
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Vol. 18, No. 12
Newsletter: Access to Energy Newsletter Archive Volume: Volume 18 Issue/No.: Vol. 18, No. 12 Date: August 01, 1991 08:44 AM (For actual publication date see newsletter.) Title: Ed Asner, where are you?
Copyright © 2004 - Access to Energy Newsletter Archive
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