The public can no longer tolerate the health and environmental threats caused by continued reliance on old, dirty coal plants. The clean water, fish and wildife habitat and quality recreation experiences provided by old growth forests far outweigh their value cut down. We need an international trade and development policy that protects forests here and overseas, not one that promotes more logging regardless of the consequences. Activists gathered at U.S. Forest Service Headquarters and unfurled a 200-foot long banner depicting an old growth tree that has been logged. After several speeches, activists marched to the White House where activists called on Vice President Al Gore to support ending old growth logging.
Jobs are a big concern.
But the answer doesn't lie in liquidating old growth forests, it lies in restoring the landscape that can provide family wage jobs and sustain forest dependent communities. The EPA is expected to issue its final risk assessment for chlorpyrifos, the nation s most widely used pesticide, in the next few weeks. The EPA s own preliminary assessment of chlorpyrifos, released late last year, found evidence that the chemical can affect the nervous system in humans. The pesticide is found in more than 800 products, including pet collars, pest control products, and lawn and garden insecticides. Recent studies indicate that exposure may cause severe and lasting nerve damage in infants and children.