New Monuments/Old Attitudes

[Shane Paterson]

On Thu, 18 Jan 2001, Carl B.Lind wrote:

> The issue is process.  This is a country that is supposed to be ruled by
> law, not man.  The Executive Order appears to come close to negating that
> idea.  In today's society where so many people are effected by such
> decisions, neither Clinton nor Bush should be able to make environmental law
> without at least attempting to achieve some sort of consensus from the
> citizens.  This will best serve the environment in the long term.

Very good points.  Still, the recent installation of a
patently-unpresidential President during a moment in history remarkably
free of any vestige of consensus gives me cause for concern about the
immediate future of environmental legislation and the prevailing executive
attitude toward the environment.  For that matter, the impending executive
figurehead's ability to spell "environment," to coin the requisite cheap
shot.

For some reason -- I sense the short-sighted greed of corporate backers
here who'd love to dismantle the EPA piece by painful piece -- Republicans
have, at least in recent memory, traditionally included among their ranks
the most heinous anti-environmentalists extant, despite conservation being
by definition a conservative value.  Given that the country's already
right-wing-ward in comparison to most others I can think of, has a
religion-tainted Junta of the Right that just can't wait to exert their
power, and a citizenry that would (collectively) undoubtedly trade all the
caribou in Alaska for a few cents' price break at the gas pump (the SUV
Factor), I'm quite happy to see President Clinton get those Executive
Orders on their way.

Short of Al Gore leading a column of armored fighting vehicles down
Pennsylvania Avenue tomorrow, the outgoing President's final "nyah nyah"
may be the best hope that patches of our more unique environmental
heritage have of surviving the next four years.

Shane Paterson



	    <o((((((>{  <o((((((>{  <o((((((>{  <o((((((>{	

			  Shane Paterson, PhD				

		  e-mail:	cuda at arches.uga.edu		
		WWW:	        http://www.uga.edu/cuda		

	     }<))))))o>  }<))))))o>  }<))))))o>  }<))))))o>

~~~~~~~
For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the
digests, please visit www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the
menu bar, then click on Coral-List Listserver.