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To: Rarebird who wrote (72726)	7/2/2001 12:51:21 PM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 116912

We are only 5 months into the Bush term, & he is yet only continuing the Clinton dollar policy. If he pushes the dollar to remain high for an entire year, I'll agree with you.

To: Rarebird who wrote (72726)	7/2/2001 3:38:21 PM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 116912

OT Environmentalists Square Off in Squirrel Squabble By Seth Lewis CNSNews.com Correspondent July 02, 2001 (CNSNews.com) - When a Pacific Northwest utility company announced in January it would build the world's largest wind power plant, seemingly everyone embraced the plan. Environmentalists touted its cleanliness. Politicians praised its ingenuity. And consumers welcomed its timing - coming at a moment when the West was feeling the pinch of energy-starved California. Who couldn't love wind power? Well, the Washington ground squirrels, for one. The rodents - which are protected under the Oregon Endangered Species Act but are not on the federal list - may be harmed by a 16-mile corridor of windmill construction along the Oregon-Washington border, according to a state-mandated study. Besides jeopardizing construction of almost a third of the Stateline Wind Generating Project's 450 windmills, the squirrel squabble has pitted environmentalists against an unlikely foe: themselves. "The same people who want the Endangered Species Act enforced also want green power," Republican state Rep. Jeff Kropf said. Now, the 300-megawatt project - which is expected to power 70,000 homes, or about a third of Portland - is temporarily stalled while bureaucrats wade through Oregon's complex endangered species law. "They've got to jump through all these hoops," said Kropf, who has co-authored legislation to rewrite the state's endangered species law. "This has the potential to shut down the entire project." Environmental Irony? Energy officials scoff at critics' apocalyptic assertions and maintain the project will be finished - even if it means building around some squirrel colonies. "We've always known there may be some issues with the environment, with squirrels and birds," said Carol Clawson, a spokeswoman for FPL Energy, a subsidiary of Florida Power & Light and the company contracted to build the wind farm. The Oregon Office of Energy says the squirrels' impact will be minimal, possibly relocating as many as 25 turbines to Washington, where the ground squirrel isn't listed as an endangered species. Even environmentalists aren't fazed by the apparent irony of the situation. In fact, according to one environmentalist group, alternative-energy advocates have long since made peace with animal-rights groups such as the Audubon Society, which used to accuse windmills of harming birds. The squirrel situation is an isolated - and insignificant - incident, says Mark Glyde, spokesman for the Seattle-based Northwest Energy Coalition. "It really is just a very minor bump in the road," he said. Altering Oregon's Law The Washington ground squirrel is native to Oregon - not its namesake. And while the squirrel is a candidate for protection under Washington-state and federal endangered species mandates, only Oregon law shields the rodent. But the fact that the squirrels live on both sides of the states' farm-dotted border and "will be running among the windmills," Kropf said, calls into question the validity - and severity - of Oregon's law. The strict standard fits a state that prides itself on eco-awareness. In the last decade, Oregon has seen national debates erupt over its decisions to ban logging to save the spotted owl and this spring cut off irrigation water to farmers in the Klamath River Basin to preserve the sucker fish. But what irks Kropf most, he said, is a loophole in the Oregon law that allows authorities to enforce endangered species standards on private property such as the windmill sites - something not allowed at the federal level. That's why he and fellow Republican Rep. Bob Jenson have co-sponsored a bill in the Oregon House that would close the loophole and require the state to study the human and economic impacts before listing a species as endangered. They hope it will set a precedent that could alter the Environmental Protection Agency's standard. "The human needs of people are not being equated equally as endangered species are," Kropf said. "At a time when we need power worst, here a project - truly a green project - is now put in jeopardy in some degree." cnsnews.com\Nation\archive\200107\NAT20010702b.html