The Citizens’ Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., on the Clear Skies Act This week, a Senate committee is preparing to vote on President Bush’s Clear Skies Act – an initiative that will overhaul the nation’s emission standards. Contrary to its name, Clear
The Citizens’ Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., on the Clear Skies Act
This week, a Senate committee is preparing to vote on President Bush’s Clear Skies Act – an initiative that will overhaul the nation’s emission standards. Contrary to its name, Clear Skies is an industry-friendly bill that actually weakens environmental laws already on the books and relaxes controls on toxic power plant emissions. Under current provisions of the 35-year-old Clean Air Act, mercury emissions from power plants must be reduced to five tons per year by 2008. Clear Skies would permit 26 tons of mercury — or five times as much — to be released each year through 2010. … When the Clear Skies proposal was drafted in 2001 (using language largely written by representatives of the power plant industry), scientists were forbidden by the White House to commission studies or present information that might undermine the proposed changes to mercury emission standards. And last week, two national organizations that went on record in opposition to the Clear Skies Act because it is “far too lenient” were ordered to turn over their financial and tax records to the federal government. If President Bush’s initiative becomes law, it would be the first time in the history of the 1970 landmark Clean Air Act that pollution rules were relaxed instead of made more stringent. Congress must not allow our country to move backward on critical environmental issues. The health of our nation’s children is too important.
St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, on injured reservists’ pay and benefits
With ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military relies heavily on Reserve troops. Yet when those soldiers are wounded in the line of duty, too often they find they cannot rely on the military.
One of those is John Allen, an Army Special Forces team sergeant in Afghanistan, where he was seriously injured. Back home with damage to his brain, legs and vision, Allen sought a standard extension to his active-duty status so he could continue to receive medical care. Because of bureaucratic foul-ups, however, Allen has been dropped from active duty several times, which meant that some of his medical appointments were canceled. Even his pregnant wife was refused treatment at a military hospital until a commander intervened.
In all, Allen suffered a nearly $12,000 loss of pay and, as he described it, “intense and indescribable stress.” Unfortunately, Allen’s situation is far from unique.…
The military has struggled to keep up with a growing reliance on Reserve troops, but unless it starts treating them better it will be difficult to attract new recruits.…
