Creative Loafing

April 18, 2001 “Chainsaws in the Chattahoochee Forest,” by Scott Henry. This article explores the possibility of a return to heavy-handed forest management under the Bush Administration. A quote from newly installed Chattahoochee National Forest Supervisor Clara Johnson gives us a clue: We’re looking forward to continuing scientifically sound ecosystem management with strong public involvement. But if the President states he wants us to cut a certain number of board feet and move more trees out of the national forest, then we will. Ecosystem management and timber targets? Sounds like an oxymoron!

Atlanta Constitution

May 18, 2001 “ Energy Plan Called Dirty, Dangerous,” by Charles Seabrook. Charles writes: The President’s plan calls for constructing 1,300 to 1,900 electrical power plants...not only coal…or gas-fired, but also nuclear…the nation would need 263,000 miles of new power lines. This is particularly bad news for Georgia, since the state has some of the weakest laws in the U.S. for siting of power plants and power lines.

The Highlander

June 5, 2001 “ With Dirty Past, Coal Tainted as Energy Savior,” by Rick Eodes. This article tells the story of a slurry pond that ruptured at a coal mine in Martin County, Kentucky. 250 million gallons of coal by-product was spilled, which devastated 75 miles of Appalachian streams. The article states: the lawyer for Mossey Energy promptly proclaimed this disaster ‘an act of God.’

Sacramento Bee

The Sacramento Bee published a series of articles by Tom Knudson on April 22nd through the 26th, which analyzed the environmental movement. Some highlights of this controversial series underscore the bloated bureaucracy that much of the “mainstream” environmental movement has become. Knudson writes: Salaries for the environmental leaders have never been higher. In 1999—the most recent year for which comparable figures are available—chief executives at nine of the nation’s ten largest environmental groups earned $200,000 and up, and one topped $300,000. In 1997, one group fired its president and awarded him a severance payment of $760,335. Six national environmental groups spend so much on fund raising and overhead they don’t have enough left to meet minimum benchmark for environmental spending—60 percent of annual expenses— recommended by charity watchdog organizations.

New York Times

“Panel Tells Bush Global Warming is Getting Worse,” by Katherine Q. Steelye and Andrew C. Revkin. The authors write: In a much-anticipated report from the National Academy of Sciences, two leading atmospheric scientists, including previous skeptics about global warming, reaffirmed the main stream scientific view that the Earth’s atmosphere was getting warmer and that human activities were largely responsible.

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