Bonner Cohen of EPA Watch reviewed the EPA's November 27 proposal to "drastically tighten" U.S. air quality standards to such a degree that, Cohen said, more than 100 million people living in 100 U.S. metropolitan areas currently compliant with federal standards will suddenly be non-compliant, and, as such, will be subject to measures to enforce compliance. Likely measures: forced carpooling and other restrictions of the use of cars and trucks and restrictions on the use of lawnmowers, fireplaces, boats and outdoor BBQs. Among the cities likely to be afflicted: New York, Boston, Providence, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Washington D.C., Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit & all of southern Michigan, Houston, New Orleans, Miami, Atlanta, Memphis, Seattle, Portland (OR), and all of southern California. Cohen called on the Congress to stop the implementation of these regulations. Dr. S. Fred Singer of the Science and Environmental Policy Project noted that the 1990 Clean Air Act forbids the EPA from considering the cost of the regulations it issues, and called upon the Congress to change the law to permit the EPA to do so. Contact Bonner Cohen at 202/739-0179 and Fred Singer at 703/352-7535.
Amy Ridenour of The National Center for Public Policy Research distributed several op/eds on topical environmental issues, including November pieces by the Cato Institute's Jerry Taylor and The National Center's David Ridenour analyzing the political clout of establishment environmental organizations, a November 22 Wall Street Journal staff editorial on continuing trial lawyer-inspired hype surrounding silicone breast implants (the latest outrage: an elementary school teacher arrested on a drunk-driving charge claimed she wasn't drunk at all, but made to seem drunk by her silicone implants -- which had already been removed) and an essay by Bruce Bartlett of the National Center for Policy Analysis on the effect of environmental regulations on the U.S. economy. For copies of the articles contact Chad Cowan of The National Center at 202/543-4110. (Author contacts: Cato Institute at 202/842-0200, The National Center for Public Policy Research at 202/543-4110, NCPA at 972/386-6272.)
John Shanahan of the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution compared the effect of environmental movement PAC contributions on the average total score of the House and Senate on the environmental movement's League of Conservation Voter's legislative scorecard. His analysis indicated that environmental groups did not succeed in moving the Congress their way: in the 104th Congress the combined total average LCV score for the House and Senate was 45.8 (a 100 score is considered optimum by the LCV, a left-wing environmental lobby group) but in the 105th Congress the average score has dropped to 44.9%. Shanahan also reviewed poll results showing that only 9% of voters for President Clinton considered the environment one of the top two issues, while 2% of voters for Senator Dole and Ross Perot thought so. Contact John Shanahan at 703/351-4969 or adti@erols.com.
David Ridenour of The National Center for Public Policy Research distributed copies of The National Center's new "National Directory of Environmental and Regulatory Victims" (a hundred examples of people adversely affected by excessive regulation) and "Directory of Environmental Scientists and Economists" (names and biographies of 144 experts in 27 environmental disciplines for journalists and talk show hosts). Contact David Ridenour or Bob Adams at 202/543-4110 or eptf@nationalcenter.org.
Pat Callahan of the American Association of Small Property Ownership described a problem with new lead paint regulations: the rules contain so many hurdles, the cost of compliance in many cases exceeds the value of the property. This is resulting, she said, in property abandonment. Contact Pat Callahan at 202/244-6277 or aaspo@smallpropertyowner.com or vist the AASPO web site at http://www.smallpropertyowner.com/~aaspo.
Myron Ebell of Fronters of Freedom discussed conservatives' hopes for a better relationship in 1997 with House Speaker Newt Gingrich and praised a new book by the Action Institute: "The Cross and the Rain Forest: A Critique of Radical Green Spirituality." The book shows how the ideology of radical environmentalists calls for a "fundamental reordering of priorities in a way which is essentially hostile to the Christian tradition." Contact Myron Ebell at 703/527-8282. For copies of the book contact Greg Dunn at 1-800-345-ACTON or info@action.org or visit the Action web site at http://www.acton.org.
The African-American group Project 21 is condemning the African-American holiday Kwanzaa -- the seven day celebration begins on December 26 -- as racially divisive, pro-violence, and against the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. For instance, says the group, the black, green and red official Kwanzaa flag advocates violence. Says the official Kwanzaa Information Center: "red, or the blood, stands as the top of all things. We lost our land through blood; and we cannot gain it except through blood. We must redeem our lives through the blood. Without the shedding of blood there can be no redemption of this race..." The Kwanzaa Information Center adds that the flag "is a symbol of the devotion of all African people to the liberation of the African continent, and the establishment of a nation in Africa ruled by descendents of slaves from the Western World. In addition... it has become the symbol of devotion for African people in America to establish an independent African nation on the North American Continent." The official pledge to the Kwanzaa flag reads as: "We pledge allegiance to the red, black, and green, our flag, the symbol of our eternal struggle, and to the land we must obtain; one nation of black people, with one god of us all, totally united in the struggle, for black love, black freedom, and black self-determination." Project 21 member James Coleman, a former multi-year celebrant of Kwanzaa and a former Black Panther, says: "Kwanzaa is as flawed as the Million Man March. Yes, the seven principles of Kwanzaa that stress the rebuilding of black communities sound good, but the holiday is exclusive to black people just as the March was. If David Duke called for a Million White Man March, or an Aryan holiday, no one would believe him if he said his only intention is to get white people to adopt good family values. It would be seen as divisive and hateful. By only stressing the unity of black people, Kwanzaa separates black people from the rest of Americans. Americans must unify on whatever principles ensure we live in a safe, prosperous, God-loving country, with the race and ethnicity of any American seeking to abide by those principles being of no consequence." According to the Kwanzaa Information Center, Kwanzaa was initiated by Dr. Maulana Ron Karenga in America in 1966 to reveal and disclose to individuals to their cultural heritage. For a copy of the Kwanzaa Information Center's materials on the holiday's meaning, or an interview with a Project 21 member, contact Arturo Silva at 202/543-4110 or project21@nationalcenter.org.
Scoop is published by The National Center for Public Policy Research to provide information about the activities of the conservative movement. Coverage of a meeting or statement in Scoop does not imply endorsement by The National Center for Public Policy Research. Copyright 1996 The National Center for Public Policy Research. Reprints of articles in Scoop permitted provided source is credited.
<<< Return to the Scoop Newsletter Index