Liberty Matters News Service

August 6, 2003  

Look What Uncle Sam Bought For You

The United States Forest Service has just spent $6.57 million taxpayer dollars to buy development rights on 105 acres along U.S. Highway 26-287 near Teton Pass, Wyoming. "That viewshed is just awesome," exclaimed Kniffy Hamilton, Forest Supervisor for the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Government officials seem to think $62,590 per acre is quite a bargain, well below the appraised value of the land, they claim. Sen. Craig Thomas (R-WY) secured $.3.5 million to help purchase the easement in 2001 and came up with another $2.8 million earlier this year allowing the Service to buy the easement without having to share it with the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance. The property will remain privately owned and the public will not be allowed access, even though it was purchased with taxpayers' money. "I think the public gains a lot of value in having the easement there because it won't be developed," rationalized Hamilton. It is not clear just what "value" the public will gain from land they can't use and which can't be developed. Senator Thomas's staff did not respond to requests for additional information about the funding for the easement purchase.
Forest Service Buys Easement

"PC" Environmentalism Doomed Columbia

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced in July that a piece of foam that came loose from the space shuttle Columbia was the cause of the fatal crash last February 1, killing all seven astronauts. Experts now believe the foam is the "metaphorical smoking gun [that] should be painted green." During the Clinton-Gore administration, NASA was under pressure from EPA head Carol Browner, to refrain from using Freon in its thermal-insulating foam. The fluorocarbon caused damage to the earth's ozone layer, according the powerful green lobby. As a result, NASA substituted a politically correct foam that did not hold up as well under extreme temperatures. Hannes Hacker, an aerospace engineer, said that the inferior foam was "at least a contributing factor, if not the major factor. The risk of a piece of debris falling off and causing damage to the space shuttle's thermal-protection system was [more than] 10 times greater with the new material than with the old material." NASA mechanical systems engineer, Greg Katnik, wrote in the 1997 "Field Journal" report that "there had been significant damage to the [ceramic] tiles" of the first shuttle launches that used the new material. John Berlau, author of the informative "Lost in Space" article for Insight Magazine, writes, "NASA, as well as the EPA officials who pressed it to stop using Freon, may have a lot to answer for."
Lost In Space

"If You Build it, We Will Burn It"

Officials found a banner with the "build it and burn it" slogan next to a torched apartment building in San Diego, California over the weekend. The banner included the initials of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), leading them to believe the radical environmental group was responsible for destruction of the five-story building that caused more than $20 million in damage. An e-mail from the group indicated they did not know if any of their teams had caused the blaze, but a statement read; "The banner at the site reading 'You build it - we burn it - ELF' is a legitimate claim of responsibility by the Earth Liberation Front." ELF's goals are to remove every vestige of civilization that offends its loose-knit group of wing nuts and calls itself "an international underground organization that uses direct action in the form of economic sabotage to stop the destruction of the natural environment." Since 1997, ELF has claimed responsibility for fires and other acts of destruction that have caused $50 million in damages to luxury homes, sport utility vehicles and ski lodges, including the $12 million lodge in Vail, Colorado in 1998. Capt. Jeff Carle of the San Diego Fire Department said if the eco-terrorists wanted to save the local environment by destroying the apartment, they messed up badly since more trees would be cut down to rebuild the structure.
Officials Suspect Terror In California Fire

Santa Barbara Co. Residents Protest Salamander

More than 150 residents of Santa Barbara County jammed a U.S. Fish and Wildlife hearing to offer comments about reclassifying the California tiger salamander from endangered to threatened. Many of those in attendance expressed anger and frustration over the strict rules that have stopped or delayed construction of needed facilities. USF&W halted the construction of a new animal shelter days before it was scheduled to begin because they were worried the salamanders might be harmed. A warehouse to store food for the FoodBank of Santa Barbara County cannot be built until the salamander issues are resolved. Fourth District Supervisor Joni Gray said, "Tiger salamanders can survive drag strips, airplanes and chicken ranches. They can certainly survive some kind of development…." "You really didn't give a damn about preservation of the species," said rancher Fred Chamberlain. "You want to control everyone's land." "You're holding this community hostage," said land-use consultant Laurie Tamura. Many people were angry that Fish and Wildlife pushed the listing through in 2000 with very little public input and what Fifth District Supervisor, Joe Centeno, termed "questionable scientific data." Environmental Defense Center people argued the salamander should remain endangered, "that no scientific basis exists for the reclassification."
Salamander Hearing Draws Crowd