Our Planet * Our Children
Sunday, January 21, 1996
2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Cary Hall, Lexington, MA
1605 Massachusetts Avenue
Report by Gregory Wilcox,
Internet correspondent,
Boston Chapter of Zero Population Growth
Overview
Sunday afternoon at Cary Hall in Lexington was billed as a kind of ecological
town meeting. However, it turned out more like a jam of environmental superstars
-- including such luminaries as Bruce Babbitt, Carol Browner, and Dr. Mario
Molina. Cary Hall was filled to near capacity, with over 1000 people. Even
CNN was in attendance, filming the event for a series of shows to be broadcast
between February 12 and 19. It was organized by Representative Ed Markey,
Democrat of Massachusetts, who also acted as master of ceremonies.
Carol Browner - Environmental Protection Agency
The first featured speaker was Carol Browner, head of the Environmental
Protection Agency. As expected, she praised President Clinton for resisting
the Republican's efforts to weaken environmental protection. However, she
warned that as a result of recent EPA funding cuts, "the environmental
cop is not on the beat". The agency has had to abandon less-critical programs,
such as enforcement and pollution prevention. Unfortunately, no enforcement
means no revenue: EPA has been unable to collect about $63 million in fines
since October 1.
Bruce Babbitt - Department of the Interior
Next up was Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the Department
of the Interior. Babbitt was clearly the one that the crowd had come
to see. When he was introduced by Rep. Markey, Babbitt got a standing ovation.
He started out by saying that he wanted to tell Republicans that, before
they threw out 25 years of environmental legislation, they should look
to see what results it had achieved. Then he decided to take his own advice.
So he embarked on a cross-country road trip to see the results first-hand.
His first stop was in Cleveland, Ohio, where the Cuyahoga River was
so polluted in 1969 that it actually caught fire. Babbitt said he was amazed
at how clean the Cuyahoga was today in comparison. He talked of seeing
various fish and wildlife -- even a blue heron.
(Babbitt's story about the death and subsequent rebirth of the Cuyahoga
was especially gratifying to me, for several reasons. I am a Cleveland
native, and I spent much of my youth in the Emerald Necklace (a series
of parks along the Cuyahoga). Also, my father worked for EPA
Region V. Region V is responsible for Lake Erie and its tributaries,
including the Cuyahoga. It is because of this office that the Cuyahoga
has been restored.)
Babbitt was especially incensed about Republican legislation which would
close many of our National Parks, and make them available for natural resource
extraction. They are even targeting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
- claiming that it's nothing but a frozen wasteland, with nothing to lose
but its oil. So he visited the refuge, and found it teeming with elk and
caribou and old-growth forests. It was the most profoundly moving experience
of his career. He says that as caretakers of this country, we have to know
when to draw the line. Clearly, he said, we must draw the line at closing
the ANWR.
Panel I - The Environment And Your Health
Following the featured speakers were two panels, composed of three speakers
each. Panel I was titled "The Environment and Your Health", and its members
addressed the threat that environmental toxins pose to human health. Panel
II, "Preserving Our Natural Resources", looked at the threat to environmental
health.
Velma Smith - Friends of the Earth
Velma Smith, Executive Director of Friends
of the Earth, was the first panelist. Speaking on the topic of Superfund
"reform", she emphasized that the real agenda of the Republican Congress'
reform legislation is to essentially repeal the law. Despite its problems,
Superfund has had its share of successes. Therefore, what it needs is true
reform. For example, when more than one company pollutes a site, it is
unfair to split cleanup costs equally. Those whose contribution is minor
should pay less.
Paul Burns - MASSPIRG
Paul Burns of MASSPIRG
was the second panelist. He began by saying that usable fresh water is
only 1% of the earth's total water. In my opinion, though, this statistic
over-dramatizes the point. It's akin to saying that chromium is only one
trillionth of a person's body mass. What matters is not the percentage,
but the functionality. We don't need more water; we just need to take better
care of the water we have.
Burns also noted that the country has made substantial progress in cleaning
up its inland waterways since the first Earth Day in 1969. However, despite
the progress, most Massachusetts rivers are still too contaminated for
fishing and swimming. In fact, the state has the dirtiest rivers in New
England. Burns says that the best way to protect them is by passing the
American Rivers Protection Act, which has been stuck in committee for years.
However, he believes that it will pass if it ever comes up for a vote.
Devra Davis - World Resources Institute
Devra Davis of the World Resources Institute was the third panelist. She
said that regulators are currently in a mode of demanding hard statistics
proving the harm of a given toxin before they take action on it. (Davis
noted that human health statistics, while useful, are merely representations
of people without their tears.) However, there are currently very clear
signs that many chemicals are very dangerous to human as well as environmental
health. These include animal studies, wildlife studies, and epidemiological
studies. As an example of the latter, she says that we are currently suffering
from five times that non-smoking-induced cancer rates of our grandparents'
generation. Furthermore, in the past there were many cases -- benzene,
asbestos, DDT -- where we did have good scientific evidence but didn't
act on it. Therefore, we shouldn't wait before taking action. If we do,
we may get our proof, but the results will be catastrophic. She calls this
the "dead bodies" approach to regulation.
Questions From The Audience
After the first panel, several questions from the audience were taken.
The first was from a man who wanted to know the source of Rep. Markey's
quote about the B2 bomber, which began "B2 or not B2 - that is the question".
Markey replied that he had merely paraphrased the great Bard, but the rewording
was his own. This inspired Markey to go find the entire text, which he
re-read later to an amused and appreciative audience.
Another question was from a woman who was a victim of Dursban poisoning.
(Dursban is an insecticide manufactured by DowElanco.) She said she had
lost 4/5 of her breathing capacity due to this chemical. She asked Velma
Smith how we as citizens could increase awareness of these issues.
Panel II - Preserving Our Natural Resources
Brian Spate - Defenders of Wildlife
The second set of panelists started off with Brian Spate of Defenders of
Wildlife. Like the speakers and panelists before him, Spate heaped scorn
on the current Republican Congress. He said it appeared that their primary
tactic was "if you can't beat the American public, confuse them". Thus
they attach unrelated riders to large appropriations bills which need to
get passed to keep government going. The purpose of the riders is to negate
existing environmental legislation, which President Clinton well knows.
Therefore he vetoes the bills, and government shuts down. Eventually this
tactic will become clear to the American public. When it does, says Spate,
1996 will become "the year of the environment" in the U.S. Congress.
Spate also pointed out that Republicans are singling out the Endangered
Species Act because it's one of the most costly laws for big business.
However, they think it will be easy to kill because most people don't feel
strongly about it. While the average citizen can easily make the connection
between the Clean Air Act and the air she breathes, it's harder for her
to relate to the loss of the spotted salamander. Or at least that's how
the theory goes.
Robert Cox - Sierra Club
Following Brian Spate was Robert Cox, president of the Sierra
Club. While introducing Cox, Rep. Markey described the Sierra Club
as "the aircraft carrier in our defense of the environment". Cox said that
if he could relay one message to the president from the members of the
Sierra Club, it would be to request that he not sign any bill containing
anti-environmental riders. Cox notes that while Clinton has done a good
job of holding the line so far, he is under a great deal of pressure. The
current budget standoff is not helping his re-election campaign, but it
is unclear whether it is worse for the Republicans.
Dr. Mario Molina - Nobel Laureate
Last was Dr.
Mario Molina of MIT and a 1995
Nobel
laureate. Being a Lexington resident, he was warmly received by the
hometown audience. Molina focused on the global nature of environmental
problems, and urged policy makers to look at global solutions. A good example,
he said, is the international ban on CFC's, which is gradually being phased
in. This will help to alleviate the acceleration of global warming, and
all of the catastrophic changes it would bring.
