
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, April 22, 1990                   TAG: 9004230202
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: F-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: NANCY M. KAMWELL
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`CRISES' OR PRETEXTS?...

THOSE WHO work to destroy America's independence have focused on "the environment" as a vehicle to persuade the public that it should adopt a world view and submit to increased governmental controls. Watch for a massive "Earth Day" promotion today (which just happens to be Lenin's birthday). Fifty million to 100 million participants are hoped for worldwide.

Six exaggerated environmental "crises" provide pretexts for world government:

Acid rain. Last year, some 12 million tons of hydrochloric acid and 6 million tons of hydrofluoric acid were shot into the stratosphere by volcanoes. Ants of the subfamily Formicianae release 600 metric tons of formic acid annually just by defending themselves, communicating with each other, and dying. This amount is equal to the combined formic acid contributions of automobiles, refuse combustion and vegetation.

The "greenhouse effect." The National Climate Data Center states there is no statistically significant evidence of an overall increase in annual temperature for the 48 contiguous United States, 1898-1987. It is estimated that all of the carbon dioxide injected into the air by the entire human race is less than the amount attributable to volcanoes alone. Termites belch C02, methane, and other gases into the atmosphere in amounts of more than twice the net global input from fossil fuel combustion. How about a "TUMS for termites" campaign? New Zealand's 70 million flatulent sheep emit 2.5 billion gallons of methane into the atmosphere every week. Gas-X in their fodder?

Ozone depletion. The ozone "hole" does not indicate any planetwide deficiency of ozone. It appears to be simply a seasonal redistribution while the worldwide total remains constant.

Deforestation. Less government and more free enterprise would greatly reduce the need to ravish the rain forests in countries impoverished by collectivist governmental economic policies.

Overpopulation. Jacqueline Kasum, a professor of economics at Humboldt State University and author of "The War Against Population," states that eight times, and perhaps as much as 22 times, the world's population could support itself at the present standard of living, using present technology; and this leaves half the Earth's land surface open to wildlife and conservation areas!

Auto emmisions. The automobile has greatly reduced the pollution caused by the horse. Milwaukee, in 1907, had a population of 12,500. It had a daily problem of 133 tons of manure.

Two current legislative thrusts are the Clean Air Bill that may cost more than $100 billion per year to fight non-existant problems, and a move to elevate the Environmental Protection Agency to a Cabinet-level Department of the Environment. Our representatives should be reminded that America's biggest pollution problem is too much government!

by CNB