Friends of the Earth

By the Mother Earth News editors

The worldwide organization called Friends of the Earth is one of the most effective environmental groups in existence today, and the activities of FOE—along with a broad range of other news concerning ecological developments—are described each month in its publication titled Not Man Apart. You can become a member of Friends of the Earth, and receive the excellent tabloid, by sending $25 ($12 for students and retired people)—or $15 for a subscription only—to FOE, Dept. TMEN, 1045 Sansome Street, San Francisco, California 94111. And to increase the reach of the organization's doings, we've arranged to bring you this bi-monthly column, which is prepared by the staff of FOE/NMA.

WATT'S WOOL-PULLING

Secretary of the Interior James Watt surprised a lot of people this spring when he announced that he'd ask Congress to pass a bill banning oil and gas exploration in designated wilderness areas from now until the year 2000. The move seemed to represent a stunning reversal of the man's earlier prodevelopment policies . . . and caused some environmentalist groups—the Wilderness Society, for one—to issue statements congratulating the Secretary and commending the public-at-large for helping to sway the official's views.

Unfortunately, any cause for celebration was quickly put to rest when Mr. Watt released an actual draft of the legislation he was submitting. Clearly, he'd tried to pull a fast one on Congress, the press, and the rest of this nation's citizenry when he made his initial announcement.

You see, a permanent ban on drilling and mining in wilderness areas is already scheduled to go into effect—as mandated by current law—in two years. Mr. Watt's "better idea", on the other hand, would impose an immediate prohibition on exploration . . . but that ban would be effective for only 18 years, until the turn of the century, and would then be lifted automatically. The proposal also contains a provision that would empower the President to allow exploration for oil and gas, despite the ban, whenever the Chief Executive deems that an emergency exists. And (perhaps worst of all!) the bill would give the Secretary of the Interior official authority over lands now being considered for addition to the country's wilderness system!

Early indications suggest that the bill won't go far in Congress . . . we certainly hope that turns out to be the case!

MORE FALKLANDS CASUALTIES

As tragic as the crisis in the Falkland Islands has been to humankind's hopes for peace, it may prove to be even more damaging to the future of yet another group of beleaguered mammals: the great whales. Why? Because the International Whaling Commission's annual summer meeting is scheduled to be held—as always—in En gland . . . and this year's IWC chairman is from Argentina.

At the time of this writing (mid-May), the two countries seem far from solving their differences ... and the July convention may not happen at all. Argentinian nationals have been booted out of Britain . . . and therefore the chairman likely wouldn't want to return to England for the meeting, even if he were offered a special visa for that purpose. Perhaps the commission will get together in a neutral country . . . or appoint an interim chairman . . . or simply postpone (or cancel) the conclave.

In any case, you can be sure that the still-active whaling nations of the world—Japan, Russia, Norway, Iceland, South Korea, Spain, Brazil, Peru, and Chile—won't mind a bit if the commission is either unable to assemble or thrown into chaos. Because several countries that are opposed to the slaughter of cetaceans have become new voting members of the IWC this year . . . and the additional support just might be able to tip the scales and make the long-hoped-for moratorium on commercial whaling a reality.

For the present we can only speculate about what may happen . . . and hope that by the time you read this, the Falklands crisis and all its attendant problems will be past history.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY?

Recent proposals by Anne Gorsuch (the Reagan-appointed head of the Environmental Protection Agency) demonstrate that the promotion of health and the prevention of such maladies as cancer, birth defects, chemically caused spontaneous abortions, and male sterility rank among the lowest of the current administration's priorities.

The EPA's recent actions include a proposal to permit industry to continue to use, and release into the environment, polychlorinated biphenyls. PCB's, which have been shown to be long-lived toxic compounds that work their way into the food chain, are employed primarily by utilities as an insulating fluid in transformers and other electrical equipment. There is persuasive evidence to suggest that PCB's—in addition to being probable cancercausers-may be responsible for as many as 10 to 20% of the birth defects that occur in this country!

In fact, the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 directed the EPA to ban the manufacture and distribution of PCB's—and to prohibit the use of the chemical in existing equipment—by 1979. Anne Gorsuch's EPA, however, has now called for hearings to reopen the debate, and the agency is citing "new evidence" that the substances "do not pose any serious risk of injury to human health".

This, despite the fact that the Health and Human Services Department has listed PCB's among "compounds either known or reasonably anticipated to be carcinogens". And this, despite the fact that the EPA itself estimates, on the basis of industry data, that electrical transformers now in use may be leaking 25,000 pounds of PCB's into the environment annually.

The agency is, nevertheless, proposing to authorize the use of PCB transformers "indefinitely", saying that it would cost industry too much to replace the equipment.

DART'S POINT

It's said that Ronald Reagan pays a good bit of heed to the advice given him by members of his so-called "kitchen cabinet": a group of wealthy southern California friends. Well, among that elite clique is industrialist Justin Dart . . . and we thought you might be interested in some of the comments recently attributed to this gentleman by the Los Angeles Times.

"I loathe environmentalists," said Dart. "I say we should preserve redwoods . . . maybe 100 acres of them, to show the kids. Those environmentalists who talk about preserving the wilderness in Alaska . .. how many goddamned bloody people will end up going there in the next 100 years to suck their thumbs and write poetry?"

A further quote: "If Watt wants to put five or six oil wells out there," he said, pointing to the ocean view from his Pebble Beach home, "God bless him."

And here's yet another Dart-ism that speaks for itself: "Ronald Reagan is a real leader . . . but he's not the most brilliant man I've met."

NUCLEAR NOTES

Admiral Hyman Rickover, who's known as "the father of the nuclear Navy"—and who is as responsible as any individual for the development of nuclear power in this countrywas forced to retire recently because of his advanced age (he's over 80).

In parting, the legendary officer said, in a reference to atomic submarines, that he'd just as soon "sink 'em all". Moving on to the subject of nuclear power in general, Rickover observed, "Every time you produce radiation, you produce something that has a life, in some cases for billions of years, and I think the race is going to wreck itself. It's important that we get control of this horrible force and try to eliminate it."

Surprised at the source of those comments? Well, try to guess who said this: "There is a high, increasing likelihood that someday soon—during a seemingly minor malfunction at any of a dozen or more nuclear plants around the United States—the steel vessel that houses the radioactive core is going to crack like a piece of glass. The result will be a core meltdown, the most serious kind of accident, which will injure many people, destroy the plant, and probably destroy the nuclear industry with it."

Is that a warning from Ralph Nader? David Brower? A citizens' activist group? Nope . . . that's a quote from an engineer employed (the last we heard) by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission!