[at-l] Pollution laws

[bullard@northnet.org (James Bullard)]

At 06:05 PM 1/28/01 -0700, Earl Needham wrote:
. . . clip . . .
>It's just that I remember what things were like 40 years ago, before the 
>EPA had their fingers in everything.

I grew up in the 50s and 60s too Earl. Yes,the air was cleaner at least in 
some places. Probably not in the iron mill towns in PA or in similar 
industrial cities around the country but in general.  There were also fewer 
people driving many fewer cars/trucks etc. The number of vehicles has 
increased geometrically.

I have to disagree that cars got 20 miles to the gallon back then. Oh, a 
Chevy with a straight 6 might if you drove it gently but most folks went 
for the big V8 engines. My first car was a '62 Buick convertible. It got 
all of 11 miles to the gallon on the highway and only 8 in town. We didn't 
give a damn. High test (remember high test gas?) was all of 25 cents/gal. 
and we spewed lead out the tailpipe. The average car was dead after 60-80 
thousand miles and tires were crap. If they lasted 20K you had the best 
ones made. I think your nostalgia is making you forget what it was really like.

When I was growing up Bald Eagles were nearly extinct. Now I can see them 
in the Adirondacks thanks to those terrible environmental laws. Growing up 
I never saw a great blue heron. A few years ago I was running by a wetland 
near my home and startled a heron which took wing less then 6 feet in front 
of me. What a sight that was! In the 60s that wetland would have been 
drained to get rid of the mosquitos. Moose are back in the Adirondacks. 
Many species are making a comeback after being on the brink of extinction. 
Yes, some things have gotten worse because there are more people, more 
vehicles, more factories, more power plants, just more of everything. And 
individually we consume more. That just means we have to try harder to 
lessen the impact we have on the environment. Going back to the way we did 
it in the 60s combined with the population and consumption we have now 
would be a total disaster.

Yes, I remember the 50s and the 60s all too well. It's not perfect now, but 
it's getting better and I like it better now. Of course I wish I could have 
the body I had then (more hair, less fat) but that's another matter.

Saunterer