EDITORIAL
EPA’s gutless act
puts owl in trouble
Many have tried, few have succeeded. And in the
end. the Environmental Protection Agent y jus! didn't
want the chance to play deity.
The EPA Wednesday hacked out of the so-called
"(iod Squad’’ hearings on the spotted owl, leaving on
vironmentalists fuming and the Bureau of Land Man
agement dancing in the aisles.
With the main government environmental group —
albeit a waffling one — out of the picture, the 44 Ore
gon timber sites the BLM wants to log are one step
closer to becoming mountains of two by-fours. In addi
tion, the fate of the spitted owl is crvstali/ing— even
tual extinction.
Why the EPA bowed out is up for conjecture. In
December, the group argued its way into the hearings,
claiming it had a right to participate in any decision af
fecting the nation's environment. The EPA was correct
— it did have a vested interest in what the (iod Squad
decided It was the EPA’s duty to oversee the hearings
and submit relevant and vital testimony
Didn’t work out that way.
By leaving the hear
ings — whatever the
reason — the EPA man
aged to sabotage any
hopes environmental
ists had of influencing
the squad EPA testimo
ny ( arries much more
weight than non-gov
ernmenta! sources EPA
findings on the envi
ronmental impact of
logging the 44 areas will now probably not he heard
The quickie self removal has opened debate on
whether Bush is pulling strings to influence the hear
ings The EPA isn't talking, and there is no smoking
gun. so any such accusations are simply guesswork
But the pullout is odd.
No matter whose side vou’re on. logger or owl. not
hearing .ill the facts means a biased, one sided confer
No matter whose
side you're on,
logger or owl, not
hearing all the
facts means a
biased, one-sided
conference.
The 4.(>()() acres in debate seem a pittance, unlo
vou're an owl or logger
.Should the Endangered Species At t he upheld,
some timber workers will lose their jobs If the (iod
Squad allows logging, the s(rotted owl will he in danger
of extinction. Such dilemmas make tor difficult and
unpopular decisions.
Regardless, the EPA’s wimpy action is an insult
Wh.it the (iod Squad needs most is a reasoned debate
on both sides of the issue not a B1M dominated ses
sum The EPA has done a disservice to its name
COMMENTARY POLICY
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it necessary. _
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COMMENTARY
U.S. is lobbying its future away
li, M - i
As the linlled Suni's it ono
rm continues to flouncl*?r
nod wallow lIs way mil of
mild nt i-sslon. and as thr flit
lion year is upon us, many
American political commentu
lors and public Ians art lining
up In lake potshots a! the Japu
flf sf
The Japanese am one of the
prominent reasons why the
country is losing markets,
which means losing jobs and
adding lo unemployment a! a
lime the country can nil afford
it, so say the protec tionist sup
porters
The anti protectionist forces
i .muter that proter ttonisin,
meaning retaliating against na
tions tfial - cose then c.irket< to
..at goods through i iusing our
ovv n mar ki ts, is simpi s the
wrong way to achieve the in
tended goal of total free trade
between nation slates as it on!\
tore es more, not less t losed
markets ill tile game o! lit tor
tat
it- til sides m the deiMil- ii.is e
valid points in fact, the protei
llomsts and inti protei tlonlsts
are alter the same goal free
and tart trad mg pr.u tu es How
ewr. their means to a< lueve the
intended result are about as sat
tsfying as paying ingii tuition
l! public polic \ sw ngs in
hind the protei tionist \ tew it
is iikek Atnerii a will bn cam
more isolated from its trailing
partners including, ini! not
limited to. Japan
ibis will up the ante In a
dangerous bidding war larills
and quotas would go through
the root \meru ans would be
fore ed to pa s double, may lie
triple, i urrent pru es and the
possibility exists that lull em
bargoes might result In the
end nobody wins
So where should polit \ go'
What should Ameru a do to
right the wrongs in the trade
imbalance, especially with the
Japanese/ In order to start find
ing answers, the country must
realize the initial premise
which surrounds the discus
sum, " The Japanese did tins to
uv is fundamentally wrong
The real fault lies with our
selves as a nation and what our
very own government allows to
happen in regards to lobbying,
buying cd influence, and the- re
volving door of employment
prac tiers As tin- \ew AV/urb/ic
simply stated: " The real si an
dal m Washington is not vvh.it
is dune illegally. hut what Is
dune legally
I apart runs one of the largest
continuous political campaigns
in this country and this prlt e
tag is i heap in i omparison to
the Japanese political system of
campaigning At least S-100 mil
lion each year is spent hiring
Amerlian lobbyists in Wash
inglon, lit . super lavvvers. lor
mer senators and House mem
bers former high-ranking cabi
net offh ials and even former
I' S presidents
Japan does not allow oilier
nations to manipulate its cur
fit itlurtt taught in schools, es
pet i illy in university programs
when universities are bought
up. or hae.kri ili-il l-v lapaitese
donors America does
litpun does not depend upon
other nations financing its
thinking about Japan's long
term role in the world econo
my America does, and the is
Uihiished Japanese think tanks
! - .ir tins nut Atm t . an sc hoi
ars will often not t ritii l/e the
hand' that feeds them
Japan does not permit its
politicians or parties to accept
donations Iroin foreigners
Atnerii a d.«-s
Japan, -lise docs not tolerate
its high guv eminent t j I fie nils
In-, oming other nation's top
luhhyists and adv isers Amerii a
does
in sum, Amem a tolerates lor
eign interference in its domes
tii affairs Ivelore trade even is
dlsi ussed Japan does not The
dei lining Amerii an i ivic v irtin
is the problem The villains by
the lapam-se and other foreign
interests is not the real problem
in the trade de-hate It is an
Amerii art problem and it is an
American weakness America's
competitors simply use the If
gal opportunities afforded them
to maximize their advantage
All the talk aUiut protection
ism and anti-protectionism is
missing the mark and won't
really solve our problems In so
many political Issues, we let
ethii s slide Unfortunately the
American puhlu has gotten so
used to sleaze that when the
honest truth is spelled out the
puhlu doesn’t know how to in
ternalize it and adopt it lor the
health of the nation
The debate should refoc us on
the ethics of influential Ameri
cans who have willingly sup
ported the cheapening and con
corruption of not only the con
duct of public servii r to tho ii.i
tion. but our national interests
The criticism offered up
takes tbri'i! forms hirst, they
chiitii the exumin.ition of for
eign influence over American
polite s and Institutions reads
"Met airlhyism " Hut the issue
is not so muc h about patriotism
or ideology as it is about wide
spread, identifiable corruption
all legal and tolerated in offi
cial Washington circles
Second, the all too familiar
chime of "racism" or in this
case the familiar lepan bash
ing" is utilized to blunt criti
(isms lor Japanese influence
peddling The rate card is a le
miliar gambit used to discredit
concerns of Americans over
policies that affect their lives
Obv umsiy . some Americans are
still rai ist. but legitimate issues
are denied the opportunity to
be discussed because of this
stigmatizing label
1 malls , these \merican and
foreign operatives object to in
spection and criticism of their
activities on grounds that thev
are playing the "game" t>y
American rules Their point is
tfi.it Washington permits insid
ers in the government to peddle
influence to the highest bidder
Mv point is that the "game"
itself is harmful to American
interests and requires reform
Throughout history, the l. S
has utilized both prut is tionist
policies and less protectionist
policies both have met with
little success Protectionism, in
force be I ore the (treat Depres
sion. is credited with having
added to the problem of eco
nomh recovery The current
negative trade imbalance
speaks to the sun ess of anti
protectionist polity Neither
really works
‘The corruption of American
government by domestic inter
ests is no less destructive than
bv foreign interests Depending
upon il we allow foreign inter
ests to legally continue lobby
ing the halls of Congress, and
paying Americans to do so, will
determine if we make any real
difference in achieving the in
tended goal of free and fuir
trade among nations A nation
without civic virtue and ethics
is a nation that probably won’t
survive the tests of time any
way Thus, if we are unable to
learn from history we are
doomed to repeat it
Mike Colson is u puhtii^l sci
t'iu r major at the t 'niversity.