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Show MONDAY, MAY 1. 1972 THE Japan Beefs DAILY RECORD i Up National Effort On Pollution TOKYO (ACCN) - PAGE THREE Mondays Top Suicide Night -- If Stars Out The central LOGAN, Utah (UPI) and local governments of Japan Anti-Polluti- overhead, Basic Measures Act The of monitoring pollution equipment in 1970 amounted to 194,600 million yen ($630 million), showing a steep increase of 36.3 per cent over 142,800 million yen ($464 million) for 1969. It is now predicted that production will further rise to about 450,000 million yen ($1,460 million) in 1975. About 200 companies are engaged in the manufacture of equipment, which is roughly divided into devices for the prevention of air pollution, the prevention of water pollution and the disposal of solid The agency con- must time-consumin- wet chemical and frequently has to . dust' collectors to equipment for methods, obtain a court order to measure pollution from specific violators. Kildal and Byer think the laser should be able to make such measurements remotely and with far greater ease and efficiency than present methods. In fact they believe a laser monitor, canning the air over a city, could eliminate the many fixed monitoring stations now used for the job. The laser is useful for detecting pollution because of its highly i'i ' directional light beam and its Environmental Quality Is Role Of the Law, Says U. Professor By Owen Olpin, Professor of Law, University of Utah It is hrfhi to find anyone who wants Utah to be polluted and ugly. Citizens and leaders unanimously endorse the virtues of clean air, clean water, and an attractive landscape. Why then must legislatures pass laws to protect what no one wants to harm? Why are there environmental lawsuits? Why is there controversy at all about environmental values? The answer to the dilemma, I believe, is that a general philosophical commitment to the environment is m e a n i n g 1 ess. An environmental commitment becomes meaningful only to the extent that there is a alwillingness to pay for it and be to paid. ways there is a price Despite widely expressed concern for the environment, actual decisions by industry and government in specific cases continue with frequency to disregard environmental basis, values. On a seen are values and benefits other what-ve- r to justify important enough environmental sacrifice is recase-by-ca- se quired. d Power Plants In the near future a number of significant decisions must be made iffecting tahs environment. Among he most important is how Utah should respond to the proposals to d power instruct enormous slants in Southeastern Utah. Not oo many years ago, the answer vould have been easy. The assumed senefits from the economic activ-tcapital investment, jobs, and ax revenues would have easily any environmental costs hat might have been perceived. Today, however, we have become nore sensitive to the importance f environmental values. There are nany who are greatly troubled bout the damage that could be aused by these power plants. There s, for example, a potential air problem of very serious even if a great deal of is spent for air pollution loney batement. To some of Utahs citi-en- s the red rock country of South-asteUtah is so unique and so tcredibly beautiful that any intru Coal-Fire- coal-fire- advice on all real estate matters, Roger W. Foster, CRE (counselor, Real Estate), Fitchburg, Mass., president announced today. The directory contains listings for the Society's 404 members in 41 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Canada. air pollution unsatisfactory wastes. The most important of these are those for the prevention of air However, in the pollution. and production of these development devices, emphasis has shifted from (ACCN) The WASHINGTON American Society of Real Estate Counselors has just released its 1972 directory of members identifying experts who provide independent : g, use expensive and often on Counselors' Directory Out 1 tinuously and without court orders. Two Stanford University investigators, graduate student Helge Kildal from Norway and applied physics Prof. Robert L. Byer, point out that more than 40 atmospheric pollutants are now being monitored across the UJS. by the National Air Pollution Control Administration. organization of industrial machine makers, Japans production of anti- Real Estate ! the sun and essentially or monochromatic singlewavelength, may solve the problem Industrial Machinery Manufacturers Association, an Owen Olpto I: - Japan on i The NEW YORK (ACCN) lasers intense light, brighter than pollution. Overall, on the positive side, techniques for coping with environmental pollution are making significant strides here. According to a survey by the anit-polluti- M: Utah Laser May Solve Pollution Count Without Law Suit the islands urban centers. In particular, solid wastes, such as plastic containers, discarded construction materials, and industrial discards have recently come to the fore as a new major source of removing sulphurous acid gas, such as desulphurizers for heavy oil and flue gas, and high smoke stacks because the main air pollutants have changed from dust to sulphurous oxides as petroleum has replaced coal as the main source of energy in Japan. , Of the Governments appropriations for research in fiscal 1970, 40 per cent was earmarked for desulphurizing techniques, 17 per cent for other techniques to prevent air pollution, 35 per cent for techniques for the prevention of water pollution and 7 per cent for the disposal of such items as plastic wastes. II1 nine-mon- th of the people in anti-polluti- Depressed State University researchers reported Wednesday. They said they reached their conclusion as a result of a study of calls to the universitys suicide prevention bureau. on law was toughened by amendment in November, 1970. The problem of environmental pollution in this country has assumed serious proportions because of rapid industrial advance and concentration i persons are most likely to contemplate suicide between 9 p.m. and midnight on Monday with clear skies have stiffened their regulations against air and water pollution and noise in keeping with he 1967 ? ? y, out-veigh- pol-uti- pro-ortio- ed on ns m sion by a large industrial operation would border on sacrilege. To other citizens the power plants will be acceptable only if there are tough standards to prevent substantial desecration. There remain but few who continue to regard pollution and ugliness as a necessary price that must always be paid for progress. Problems Posed Similar conflicts and complexities are posed by other environmental issues faced by Utah. Problems are posed by road building, water storage projects, and very significant problems are raised by residential subdivision and housing construction in fragile mountain areas. Utah must surely confront soon the whole complex problem of land use control. Far reaching and revolutionary land use bills are now before Congress, and several studies are under way to formulate changes in Utahs zoning and planning laws. This is highly appropriate because all problems of environmental quality ultimately implicate how land resources are allocated and used. As these decisions are approached, it will be important to have public leaders who are sensitive to the environmental values that Utah has. Those having ambitions to conduct industrial activities and to construct public works should be told by our responsible officials that their plans will not be acceptable unless they are willing to abide by standards that will assure that Utah does not barter away its heritage and soul for a mess of pottage. Inadequately Represented It will also be important to have competent lawyers whose task it is to represent environmental values. In the past the adversary system of law has simply not worked in this area. Environmental values .have almost always been inadequately represented or totally unrepresented. This is not to vilify those lawyers representing clients whose activities are thought to threaten environmental values. It is simply that the assumption of our system is that all adversaries should have adequate representation. The existing unbalance of legal resources should be unsatisfactory to the bar for the same reasons that it is unsatisfactory to leave the poor inadequately represented in legal proceedings that vitally affect their important interests. Lawyers and law students are beginning to recognize the problem, and more and more are committed to the role law must play in protecting environmental quality. In law schools across the nation courses are being offered in environmental law and problems. New institutions are being created with the goal of protecting the environment and seeing that environmental values are adequately represented in legal proceedings. One such institution worthy of note is the public interest law firm. Legal Services A public interest law firm is a legal organization funded primarily by charitable contributions and dedicated to providing legal representation for the poor, the consumer, the environment and other public interests. Most often these law firms do not collect fees for their services or they collect fees that are substantially less than would usually be charged for the legal services rendered. There is seldom a "client who has the kind of individual stake in the outcome that would justify his financing a battle against the usually well heeled adversaries. There are now public interest law firms and comparable legal organizations in many large and middle-size- d cities across, the United States. No public interest law firms have yet been established in Utah. The need is here, and it would be a fitting contribution by members of the Utah Bar to provide leadership and financial resources to form and support a public interest law firm. In the meantime, however, there is a vital need fcr lawyers and law firms to represent environmental interests pro bono publico or for reduced narrow frequency band, or color, said Byer. "If the laser is tunable, as are the dye laser, diode laser and parametric oscillator, it can be tuned to the absorption band frequency of a particular pollutant, and that pollutant can be positively identified and measured. In addition, the laser can act as an optical radar to locate the pollutant and measure the amount that is present. The ideal instrument would be a portable laser and telescope that could measure, simultaneously, a number of - I pollutants. One pollution monitoring van might replace a large number of the present fixed stations. Such a portable detection station would be invaluable for monitoring pollutant emissions and their slow spread through city air. The two Stanford investigators reported results of calculations for three different laser methods of detecting air pollution. Pollution Suits Filed Against Paper Company (ACCN)-T- he WASHINGTON of has filed both Justice Department In U.S. actions civil and criminal District Court In Jacksonville, Fla. to halt alleged pollution of a Florida river by a paper and bag i ; manufacturer. The civil suit charges the defendant, Central States Paper and Bag Company, of Palatka, Florida, with discharging waste consisting of glue and ink Into the St. Johns River. Palatka is about 45 miles south of Jacksonville. The suit seeks a permanent injunction against the discharge on the grounds that it constitutes a hazard to human health and Is damaging to the ecological balance of the river. The Justice Department also filed a three-coucriminal Information against the company charging put violations of the Refuse Act. Each count is punishable upon conviction by a fine of not more than $2,500, and not less than $500. nt 4 |