Friends of the Earth

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The worldwide organization that's called Friends of the Earth is one of the most effective environmental groups in existence today. However, although FOE publishes its own journal—the monthly tabloid titledNot Man Apart—far too few MOTHER-readers regularly get a chance to see that publication . . . and that's why we've arranged to bring you this bi-monthly column, which is prepared by the staff of FOE/NMA.

There's some evidence — as we enter year two of the Reagan era — that the administration is beginning to reverse a few of its stands on environmental issues . . . and those changing positions have probably been brought on by strong evidence that the American public is solidly in favor of environmentalism.

The clearest signal came in December of 1981, when pollster Louis Harris lectured a congressional committee about public opinion regarding the revamping of the Clean Air Act. Mr. Harris said that the populace is clearly behind maintaining stringent clean air requirements (75% of those polled stated that they approved of the Clean Air Act's progress), and that the proponents are so evenly distributed—by geography, age, profession, income, political affiliation, etc.—that any group which does attempt to gut the act will likely pay dearly at the ballot box next fall.

Therefore, in Congress, at least, the assumption now is that Mr. Reagan's election victory wasn't a mandate for relaxation of environmental regulation.

PROGRESS

In another significant action, the White House has finally given in and has retracted the nomination of James F. McAvoy to the Council on Environmental Quality. McAvoy achieved noteriety in Ohio—where he was EPA director—for suppressing legal action against industrial polluters and openly expressing his disdain for environmentalists. Discrepancies in his resume (to which McAvoy himself admitted applying some "poetic license") eventually resulted in his withdrawal from consideration.

Furthermore, in the Senate, the Garrison Diversion Water Project in North Dakota was soundly defeated . . . by a vote of 314 to 67. As you may know, the Garrison was bitterly opposed by both environmentalists and local farmers, and would have flooded as many acres as it irrigated ... not to mention the damage it would have done to a dozen national wildlife refuges and the polluted water it would have left flowing into Canada.

Another such huge project—the TennesseeTombigbee Waterway—which is designed to connect the Tennessee River to the Gulf of Mexico at a cost of $3 billion—barely survived the budget cutters' axes. And the signs are hopeful that it won't last through the summer.

In other upbeat news, voters in Columbia, Missouri and Massachusetts have come out in favor of container-deposit laws. The regulations will require that a deposit be charged on any beer or soft drink bottles or cans that aren't biodegradable. In Columbia the decision came after legal challenges and a heavy media blitz from the bottling industry . . . while the Massachusetts electorate actually pulled together to overturn Gov. Edward King's veto of the previously passed bill!

And for the first time in its history, the EPA has actually sent a convicted polluter to jail. Corning Fibers, Inc.—a Vermont paper producer—was fined $50,000 for violating the Clean Water Act, and half-owner William Bushey was himself fined $2,500 and ordered to serve 90 days . . . for contempt of court, conspiracy, and violation of the Clean Water Act. The episode involved the dumping of sludge into the Wells River.

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