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Politics : The Environmentalist Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Elmer Flugum who wrote (2768)	10/13/2003 10:11:19 AM
From: Skywatcher	Respond to of 36918

Meanwhile Bush continues to push for the destruction of our most precious air...in Yellowstone The Snowmobile Quagmire October 13, 2003 In mid-December the snowmobiling season is scheduled to open in Yellowstone National Park - another winter of health risks for park workers and visitors, pollution haze over the west entrance and Old Faithful, the din of a fleet of noisy machines in an otherwise silent park and daily harassment of winter-stressed animals. By siding with the snowmobile industry and overturning a Clinton-era plan to phase out snowmobiles, the Bush administration would continue a practice that violates the conclusions of its own Environmental Protection Agency, the better judgment of many National Park Service employees, the public will and common sense. In its own small way, the snowmobile issue demonstrates once again that when it comes to public lands the administration is always willing to sacrifice public good for private interest. The basic question at issue should be winter access. How do you get the most people into the park at a beautiful time of year with the least harm to the park? Some people will come on cross-country skis. Most will ride on snow coaches, the specially equipped, environmentally benign buses that travel over snow-packed roads. But to the White House the issue isn't access for humans but access for snowmobiles. And in the way they've handled this matter, the Interior Department and the snowmobile manufacturers have been guilty of disingenuousness at best, lying at worst. The Park Service is legally committed to allowing only snowmobiles that meet a standard of "best available technology." Until a few years ago, most snowmobiles had two-stroke engines that were loud, dirty and fast. In 2002, manufacturers began introducing four-stroke machines that were, in fact, quieter and cleaner, though slower and less powerful. But there's backsliding already: this year's new four-stroke snowmobiles, while cleaner than the older machines, are more powerful, noisier and dirtier than last year's. Put simply, the quest for power seems quickly to have replaced the quest for the best available technology. Even the Park Service has admitted that some of this year's fleet will not pass muster - but will be allowed into the park anyway. President Bush's E.P.A. has reached essentially the same conclusion reached by the Park Service during the Clinton administration. Compared with snow coaches, snowmobiles of any kind are more polluting and more disturbing to wildlife and to visitors who aren't on snowmobiles. Americans have been quick to see the common sense behind this issue. In previous comment periods, the public overwhelmingly opposed snowmobiles in Yellowstone. Even legislators have caught the drift of public opinion. In July, a number of Republican congressmen crossed party lines to ban snowmobiles in the park by a House vote of 211 to 209. That vote stood until Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio and the liaison between the Republican House leadership and the White House, changed his vote, resulting in deadlock and defeat. There is still hope for a satisfactory conclusion to this debate. Even as the public comment period for the Interior Department's snowmobiling plan comes to a close tomorrow, environmental groups are preparing to argue in court for the enforcement of already enacted laws that would prohibit snowmobiling in Yellowstone, with a decision expected by mid-November. We hope that that decision will close the park to snowmobiles for good. We also hope that the decision will afford the park a year or two to phase out the machines, giving the snowmobiling economy of West Yellowstone a chance to adjust to the new reality. But think of it this way. If the Clinton plan had been followed from the outset - without the Bush administration's cynical delay - West Yellowstone would already have adjusted, and the park this winter would be silent. nytimes.com CC