Earth
Day Information Center Cites Environmental Progress
WASHINGTON, April 21 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Although many environmental
organizations will strain to find the black lining in the silver
cloud of environmental progress on the occasion of Earth Day,
the Earth Day Information Center, a project of The National Center
for Public Policy Research, is pleased to note environmental
progress in many areas. Earth Day is Saturday, April 22.
"The air we breathe and the water we drink is substantially
cleaner than it was at the time of the first Earth Day in 1970,"
said Peyton Knight, director of environmental and regulatory
affairs for the National Center, adding, "Of course, good
news on the environment, of which there is much, rarely makes
the cut for the broadcast evening news."
The Earth Day Information Center notes that volatile organic
compound emissions from cars and trucks, which are largely responsible
for creating ground level ozone and smog, have declined 73.8
percent since 1970. In addition, between 1993 and 2002, aggregate
emissions of the six principle air pollutants tracked by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have declined 19 percent.
Cleaner air has made for good news on the acid rain front
as well. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions - the main
pollutants in the formation of acid rain - have been markedly
reduced. Sulfur dioxide emissions in the electric power industry
are down 38 percent from 1980 levels, and nitrogen oxide emissions
for the entire power industry are 37 percent below 1990 levels
according to the EPA.
The Center also notes that despite some claims to the contrary,
the United States is gaining wetlands.
"In 2002 and 2003, the United States gained a net average
of 72,000 acres of wetlands each year," said Knight.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture observes that net wetland
acreage also grew at a rate of 26,000 acres per year between
1997 and 2001.
"The best way to ensure a healthier, cleaner world is
to allow the power of human ingenuity to come to grips with environmental
challenges confronting us," said National Center Senior
Fellow Bonner Cohen.
"Technological innovation and well-protected property
rights - not micro-management through bureaucratic fiat - will
enable people the world over to live longer, healthier lives.
Sadly, this message seems completely lost on an environmentalist
establishment that is more concerned with fund-raising through
fear-mongering than with providing common sense solutions,"
says Cohen, "The very things they attack, man-made chemicals,
for example, have helped eradicate diseases, purify drinking
water, create life-saving medicines and medical devices, and
brought about countless other improvements in our daily lives."
Though progress has been made in clean air, water, and wetlands,
there is at least one environmental issue area where advancement
has been lacking: Endangered species recovery.
The House of Representatives approved the Threatened and Endangered
Species Recovery Act last year, which aims to remove some of
the barriers to species recovery that are present in the current
Endangered Species Act. However, this reform effort has been
met with strong resistance from the environmental community.
"In the 33-year history of the Endangered Species Act,
less than one percent of species listed as endangered or threatened
under the Act have been recovered," notes Knight. "While
most would consider a less-than-one-percent recovery rate a failure,
many environmentalists apparently consider it good enough to
continue the status quo."
This and other extensive information related to Earth Day
and environmental policy is available at the Earth Day Information
Center website at http://www.nationalcenter.org/EarthDay98.html.
A history of Earth Day is available, as well as information and
commentary on issues such as global warming, energy policy, forest
policy, smart growth, and property rights.
The National Center for Public Policy Research is a non- partisan,
non-profit educational foundation based in Washington, DC.
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