Bush not ruining environment
Seth Hancock
Issue date: 4/18/05 Section: Opinion
Earth day is Friday, and we will all get to hear how we are destroying our environment, and the environmentalist wackos will be out in full force trying to claim that the Bush administration is to blame for all our environmental problems. Now, I know many of you feel the same way. In fact, I know plenty of people on my side who think that President George W. Bush has been horrible for our environment.
I have some good news for you, and bad news for the liberals who keep repeating that Bush is bad for the environment - it is getting cleaner. Our forests are growing, our air is improving, our water is cleaner and endangered species are recovering.
In the April edition of the Reader's Digest, Gregg Easterbrook wrote an article titled "Good News About the Earth." Easterbrook wrote this about forests growing: "Early in the 19th century, the state of Connecticut was 25 percent forest; today, Connecticut is fully 59 percent forested, though its population has increased twelvefold, from 275,000 to 3.46 million, since then." He went on to write that many other states show the same kind of improvement, or at least stable forests.
Our air is improving immensely. The Environmental Protection Agency stated, "Emissions of the primary smog-causing chemicals from cars and trucks have declined 54 percent since 1970, even though the number of registered cars and trucks has more than doubled, from 108,407,000 to 230,428,000, and they are now driven one and a half times as far annually."
Soot is down one-third since 1979. Carbon monoxide is down 53 percent since 1970. Sulfur dioxide, which causes acid rain, is down 49 percent since 1970. We are breathing cleaner air every day.
Drink up, because your water is clean. According to Easterbrook, waterborne diseases are on the decline. "It's hard to believe, but just a generation ago, factories and municipal plants actually discharged untreated wastewater directly into rivers; today, though some raw sewage often makes it to waterways, almost all wastewater in the United States is treated before discharge." Boston Harbor is clear again. The Potomac River, which used to give off a stench, is home to a thriving restaurant scene. And, the once-open sewer, the Chicago River, now hosts dinner cruises.
I have some good news for you, and bad news for the liberals who keep repeating that Bush is bad for the environment - it is getting cleaner. Our forests are growing, our air is improving, our water is cleaner and endangered species are recovering.
In the April edition of the Reader's Digest, Gregg Easterbrook wrote an article titled "Good News About the Earth." Easterbrook wrote this about forests growing: "Early in the 19th century, the state of Connecticut was 25 percent forest; today, Connecticut is fully 59 percent forested, though its population has increased twelvefold, from 275,000 to 3.46 million, since then." He went on to write that many other states show the same kind of improvement, or at least stable forests.
Our air is improving immensely. The Environmental Protection Agency stated, "Emissions of the primary smog-causing chemicals from cars and trucks have declined 54 percent since 1970, even though the number of registered cars and trucks has more than doubled, from 108,407,000 to 230,428,000, and they are now driven one and a half times as far annually."
Soot is down one-third since 1979. Carbon monoxide is down 53 percent since 1970. Sulfur dioxide, which causes acid rain, is down 49 percent since 1970. We are breathing cleaner air every day.
Drink up, because your water is clean. According to Easterbrook, waterborne diseases are on the decline. "It's hard to believe, but just a generation ago, factories and municipal plants actually discharged untreated wastewater directly into rivers; today, though some raw sewage often makes it to waterways, almost all wastewater in the United States is treated before discharge." Boston Harbor is clear again. The Potomac River, which used to give off a stench, is home to a thriving restaurant scene. And, the once-open sewer, the Chicago River, now hosts dinner cruises.
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