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Show The Salt Lake Tribune OPINION Saturday, April 22, 2000 All Watchword for Stock Market, World Trade and Tax Cuts: Add It Up No wonder there’s so much talk in the education. A Speaking ofconsumers, American fam- yes. New metrics: no. It’s useful to recall that there were once 3,000 automobiles in a macroeconomic still beat a path to your door. But just make noise and you'll tank. Or should. The free market only works if there are losers as well as winners. The second group that needs some re- medial math skills are the foes of world trade, including the labor unions and their newfound buddies, the Weathermen wan- Pigs don't fly. Do the math. not take some financial genius to know that many high-tech stocks were wildly overpriced. When a company makes no products,or profits, the speculative frenzy driving upits stock price has to lose steam at some point. Even the Internet, for all its wonders, has notrepealed the laws of economics. BY ELIZABETH FOWLER BRIDGE NEWS SAN FRANCISCO — Since its a in 1970, Earth Day has been greeted with gloom| and ponbere But its 30th anniversary on April 22 should be a day of celebration and unabashed optimism.Contrary to popularbelief, environmental quality in the United States is getting better, not worse. Technological innovation and economic growth throughout the 20th century have led to continuous environmental improvement in almost all areas. The “wealth effect” ofa growing economyhas been the most potent factor in environmental improvement. While some environmentalists at the fringe attack modern industrial society,it is rising wealth that has made environmentalism notonly popular butpossible. Aldo Leopold, author of the seminal environmental book A , Sand CountyAlmanac, remindsus, “These wild things hadlittle human valueuntil mechanization assured us of a good breakfast.” As the U.S. economy grows, so does improved technology and more efficient use of raw materials and natural resources. This growth, combined with a growing consumerpreference for a clean envi- ronment, has led to environmental improvements throughout the United States. Although half of Americansstill believeair quality is deteriorating, the Environmental Protection Agency notes that since 1970, “U.S. Greater U.S. exports are a critical part of the current boom — just ask farmers in According to the most recent tax talk, “is a very important element in politics, andit is often ignored.” He's right on both counts. It is important. And it National Resources Inventory, sheet andrill erosion have experi- both manageable and measurable. Many resource-intensive indus- tries are finding thatit’s not only slightly more than2 percenta year. The largest reductions in soil erosion have comeon cultivated crop- possible but profitable to reduce material usage and pollution, and forts and improved technology in farming practices. prod of legal mandates. land, the result of educational ef- Toxic chemicalsis another area of concern. According to the EPA's annual Toxics Release Inventory, the release of chemicals included in the original inventory of toxins have declined 42 percent since 1988. That’s a reduction of nearly 15 billion pounds a year. The chemical industry has shown the largest decrease ofall industries in the Toxics Release Inventory, with 50.8 percentreduction in releases flect mostly productivity gains, technological improvements and for public relations purposes. The environmental buzzwordof our time is “sustainable development,” a murky conceptoften used to. express discontent or uncertainty about the future andthe fo- cus of intense debate among environmentalists. Whensustainable development is conceived as a technical issue rather thana broad conceptual and social problem, progress becomes have embarked on ambitiousprograms to reduce them without the The United States has shown the way toward correcting unsustainable practices regarding forestry. Forestland in the United States and other industrialized nations has been increasing for more than 40 years. Asfueloil, natural gas andelectricity became widely adopted in BY LEONARDODICAPRIO It's a great honorfor meto chair Earth Day2000, especially because the primary focus of this year’s campaign is global warming. Global warming has to be the greatest of the new as it is oe a benign, almost soothing namefor the single most important environmental threat to the future of our planetandallliving things onit. the early decades of the century, This newmillennium balances the use of wood for fuel began declining rapidly from more than us on the edge of history. If we continue to ignore the issueofglobal warming, we will almost certainly suffer the drastic effects of climatic changes worldwide. The predicted effects of greenhouse gases on the atmosphere include climate changes that will cause five billion cubic feet in 1900 to fewer than 500 million cubicfeet in 1970. The gains we have madesince the first Earth Day suggest economicprogress is converging with environmental concerns in a way not foreseen 30 years ago. This is whywe can look forward to a 2ist century in which the worldwide story will increasingly resemble thatof the United States. more severe typhoons, hurricanes and floods Thirty years ago in the U.S., Earth Day 1970 and the subsequent Then Earth Day will truly become Clean Air Act of 1970 helped spur worldwide changes that started to an occasionof progress, not pessimism. havea positiveeffect on the environment. Some governments began to eliminate lead in gasoline Elizabeth Fowleris a public pol- andto clean up powerplants. Now icy fellow in environmentalstudies it’s timeto take the next step — do for energy conservation and clean energy what was done for at the San Francisco-based Pacific ResearchInstitute. Your choice Whentheheatis on, it's always bestto keepit brief. Select the short subject that's right for you from a great collection of Misses’ shorts by popular makers. In denim,twill andlinen.All in Misses’ sizes S-M-L-XL, andall at one greatlow price! Westbound’ tees otek =emr ee Choose from a variety of styles. Dillard’s dillards.com shouldn't be ignored. Get Wise to Global Warming Misses @ son’s plan. Bush the Younger must have skipped his math classes at Yale. “Arithmetic,” Clinton said in his recent absorb without a return to soaring budget deficits. Even congressional Republicans but so are enced a consistent decline of leases” and the same criticism would apply to his He has proposed tax cuts worth $483 billion, far more than the economy can concerted efforts to reduce “re- eas the EPA regards as national problems, suchas soil erosion. Tohis credit, George W. Bush is more and reduce the deficit all at the same time. Do the math. When Ronald Reagan advanced a similar scheme during the 1980 campaign, Bush’s father branded the proposal “voodoo economics.” He was right then, imports. Workers who makethose goodsin Fargo or seamen in Seattle During that same period, notable reductions in air-quality concentrations and emissions tookplace.” Aggregate emissions decreased by 31 percentfor the six main air prove substantially before 1970 and before the Clean Air Act. Improvements are also evidentin other ar- by next month, when Congress votes on developing countries are earning higher wages and buying American products, since 1988, These industry reductions re- suggest air quality began to im- on the benefits of trade. Opening Chinese markets serves the national interest. And enthusiastic about the president's trade initiative than Vice President Gore, who softpedals his support in order to please his laborallies. But whenit comes to taxes, Bush’s math skills are sorely lacking. population increased 31 percent, vehicle miles traveled increased 127 percent and gross domestic product increased 114 percent. pollutants between 1970 and 1997. Furthermore, what data we have position to China's entry into the World Trade Organization are just plain wrong ple. Freer trade does mean some jobs will be lost, but on balance, far more will be created. Do the math. kerage up the point in a paid advertisement this week: “New our ability to control pollution and protect our resources. Economic growth also means tionary pressures in check. Do the math. The Democrats who are leading the op- China's trade status, enough lawmakers should have learned enough arithmetic to pass the measure. a better job of picking out solid companies and pruning away the junk. As one bro- Economic Progress Is Converging With Environmental Concerns of low-cost foreign goods helps keep infla- nabees who clogged the streets of Washington to protest the World Bank meetings this week. Globalism works,at least for most peo- Does this mean the Internet itself is overvalued? Of course not. The Net is playing a vital role in improving productivity and will become even more importantin the future. But the market must do have rejected Bush's proposal because budget rules force them to add up the something the Texas declines to do. Bush numbers, 9 In celebration of Easter, all Dillard’s stores will be closed Sunday, April 23. Dillard's will reopen Monday, April 24, at 10 a.m. Ure re Ronse hate re Oeeae In Salt Lake City: Fashion Place and South Towne Center.in Ogden: Newgate Mall. In Provo: Provo Towne treDiosover Card We welcome your Dillard's Credit Card, The American Express® Card, Diners Club International, SeanVeeana ) { cleanair back in 1970. Fortunately, there are things we can do, and that’s what Earth Day 2000 will try to emphasize. One of the most important and immediate things we can do is drive fuel-efficient, _high-gas- mileage cars — cars that have fewertoxic emi: and produce less carbon dioxide, the main culprit behindglobal warming. Hybrid cars, which have both electric motors and gasoline engines, are coming to the market. Using public transportation and carpooling are ways that people can reduce fuel consumption as well. And, ofcourse, wecan be part of the biggest Earth Day ever today. Events will be taking place in eyerytimezoneontheplanetin citi¢s such as New York, London, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Tel Aviv and Manila, creating a continuous, 24hour Earth Daycelebration.And it will be an honorfor meto chair Earth Day 2000 event in Washington.It’s time to send‘a message that politicians and cor- porations can’t ignore. Leonardo DiCaprio is a Hollywood actor. Reprinted with permis- sion from Time's global special edition for Earth Day 2000 |