Liberty Matters News Service

May 2, 2003

Healthy Forest Restoration Act On The Move

The Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 is poised to sail through the House Resource Committee on the fast track. The legislation is in response to the catastrophic fires that swept through the western states last summer and would allow forest managers to streamline needed forest thinning projects by avoiding some of the time-consuming appeals tactics that environmental groups use to obstruct proper forest management. "Until we untie the tangled knot of bureaucratic red tape that binds the hands of our land managers, massive fires and insect infestations will continue to lay waste to some of America's most cherished places," said Rep Scott McInnis (R-CO), co-sponsor of the bill. Democrats criticize the measure as a gift to the logging industry and offer instead a weakened version that spends taxpayer money to only thin trees from around rural communities. However, the bill also contains one major agenda item of environmentalists establishing a Healthy Forests Reserve Program, "that would support the establishment of conservation easements on one million acres annually of declining forest ecosystem types," to be funded at $15 million a year for five years.
McInnis Unveil Bipartisan Forests Restoration Act
GOP Joins Congressional Forest-Thinning Debate

Warning Signs Of Kyoto Rehash

There is concern that the administration and Congress might be poised to change their formerly rigid stance against global warming and the Kyoto Protocol. Patrick J. Michaels, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, fears British Prime Minister Tony Blair might demand President Bush agree to the Kyoto Treaty as a condition of Blair's support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Bush has made no secret of his dislike of the theory and National Security Agency head Condoleeza Rice declared "Kyoto is Dead." But, Mr. Blair has publicly denounced Bush's stand on the issue and told the audience at the U.N. Earth Summit in Johannesburg in September, 2002: "Kyoto is not radical enough." Michaels points to three provisions in the current Senate Energy bill that might indicate a deal on the matter. One creates a permanent Office of Climate Control in the White House giving radical environmentalists direct access to the president. Another requires a national strategy to cut carbon dioxide emissions to avoid global warming and the third creates an "early credit" for industries that cut emissions now. S. Fred Singer, professor emeritus of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia, also warns that Congress may be changing its attitude on climate change reporting the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a Sense-of-Congress-Resolution embracing all the worst features of the global warming theory. Among other provisions, the resolution urges the U.S. to negotiate another, bigger global warming treaty.
GOP Forest-Fire Prevention Plan Sparks Debate
Kyoto: Hidden Cost Of Victory?
Senate Split On Warming

McDonald's, Target Of Terror

McDonald's restaurants in several parts of the country have come under attack by groups claiming affiliation with the eco-terrorist Animal Liberation Front. Earlier this year, a Chico, California McDonald's was the target of incendiary devices that failed to ignite but a Sacramento restaurant was not so lucky. Those incidents were closely followed by the fire bombing of two McDonald's and one Arby's restaurants in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Rodney Coronado, former jailbird and now college circuit speaker, blasted McDonald's as a symbol of international animal abuse and environmental destruction, calling it "a legitimate target for people who want to protect the earth." Coronado has toured the country demonstrating how to build incendiary devices similar to the ones used in the California and New Mexico incidents. He claims the crude devices are impossible to trace and are very effective. His next project is a seminar for budding tree-sitters who plan to disrupt Pacific Lumber Company's timber harvests along California's north coast. McDonald's has responded to the attacks by trying to position itself as socially and environmentally correct, but that strategy will likely not be successful says Gary Perlstein, professor emeritus at Oregon's Portland State University and board member of Stop Eco-Violance. "A terrorist group is always going to attack the symbol," he said. "McDonald's will be a target until they only sell vegetable sandwiches." Now there’s a switch.
Burgers Make McDonald's Target For Ecoterrorists

Fish & Wildlife Habitat Proposals Draw Fire

Proposals to designate thousands of acres in California as critical habitat for two species are drawing criticism from environmentalists and the building industry. U.S. Fish & Wildlife has selected 6,000 acres of public and private land as "critical habitat" for the San Diego fairy shrimp and 495,795 acres for the coastal California gnatcatcher. The Building Industry Association of San Diego says the designation severely limits the land that can be used for development and means "what's left to build on gets even more expensive… [and] could drive up building costs in a region where housing prices are already soaring," according to Matthew Adams, director of governmental affairs for the association. However, David Hogan, spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity says at least 30,000 acres is needed to save the fairy shrimp from extinction and that nearly a half million acres is not enough to protect the gnatcatcher. Adams says the original listing of the little bird was based on junk science and the passing of ten years has not improved a thing. "It was bad policy last time to designate critical habitat and it's bad policy this time. The bird is arguably not threatened." "Recent DNA studies suggest the coastal California gnatcatcher might be the same as several million gnatcatchers that live in Baja California."
Activists, Developers Critical Of Proposal
Proposal Involves Public, Private Land