Show '4 rr v rrs vv w -- v v— v v gr v Ir r v v v v v r p - r r 3'77 - v I Time to Take Greenhouse Effect Seriously By Jessica Tuchman Mathews Special to The Washington Post Hundreds of barges have run aground on the Mississippi — the result of the river's being at its lowest Ilevel since records began to be kept 115 years ago Moscow has just sweltered through 100-yerecord high temperatures In India hundreds Ihave died because of heat waves And the United States faces what could be the worst drought since the Dust Bowl Evidence is accumulating that Ithese are historic events — the first Signs of a global greenhouse warming The four warmest years in the 135 years for which there is a record of global average temperature are 1980 1981 1983 and 1987 Based on the record of the first five months it appears that 1988 will be hotter still The apparent frequency and intensity of climate extremes in recent years also suggest a climate forced out of equilibrium by man's actions !nt gq ta - - - in- th cii eft 28 1CL ase 'I on eg- - to ys q 5 i tit44 a 4 ng ck-- - ate DT tO: The drought reminds us that the planet's metabolism is not something we can lightly take chances with Despite the massive power of modern technology mankind depends on the normal functioning of the planet especially the climate system as heaviI ly as did primitive societies Greenhouse change will create human upheaval though we do not know exactly how or where or when What then is the wise policy for a situation that marries major uncertainties with high and perhaps catastrophic but certainly irreversible I impact? Rule No I must be: Do No Harm Prudence dictates that we do I nothing that will make the problem worse while all-oresearch efforts Iare i made to better understand what's happening The most important areas to watch are the choice of fuels and the efficiency with which energy is used If carefully applied this guideline will keep us out of a lot of future trouble Yet Congress is on the verge of a serious violation of even this conservative strategy The bill in question provides an incentive in the form of an exemption from the automobile standards for producers who manufacture automobiles capable of running on alternative fuels Though other fuels are allowed methanol is ! it it for res iwn tin1611k wool has set- - I e is J I V i : tj-t'04 'I4 it '1 t d t ' 4 '' 4 intended to be the principal '' : ' beneficiary ' cp - - -- zzel p i1 -- ---- li i fr00- ' p - N T ft' e N ': ' -- ' ?I ‘ tt l''''''' I - ''''4L-411'- ' - - 00 4 - A :' -- ---i't q frr?" '' Providing an incentive for anything through reducing the energy efficiency of our automobile fleet is a bad idea for reasons of energy pollcy international competitiveness and greenhouse warming In today's environment it's like offering an incentive to students to lower their average t li 2' k :- ‘' I ' -- 4'4nOrl''' ” efe '4 (07 grade-poin- - Not only is the incentive misguided the goal is mistaken The hope is to make a small improvement in air quality in areas that cannot meet e stanozone and dards This is a worthy aim but the concerns familiar list of clean-ai- r must now be expanded to include greenhouse gases The eventual cost which will of a switch to methanol be to tie the American automobile fleet to our coal supply — is much too high Methanol can be made from either natural gas or coal Made from natural gas and used as an auto fuel it is comparable in greenhouse impact to gasoline Made from coal it is about twice as bad Supporters of the legislation argue that methanol from carbon-monoxid- k - - '7": lee ?:it :1 4 - 'vl4g' ‘) is Itt)k we to t ttet coal is years away For the near term they say it will be made from natural gas only The reality is however that the United States does not have enough natural gas to make a substantial dent in transportation needs as a source of methanol Today's oversupply will be gone in a few years and after that the industry will have to work hard just to meet present demands Soon then either the natural gas would have to be imported or the methanol would have to be made from coal Since three-quarteof the world's natural gas is in OPEC and the Soviet Union importing it would do nothing for our energy security The only choice then would be to drop the investment already made in the switch to methanol or to turn to coal Large sums would have been spent on building methanol-productio- n rs facilities (current capacity amounts to only 1 percent of portation use) converting trans- auto-producti- lines converting filling stato handle methanol (at an estimated cost of $55000 per station!) etc Abandoning all that would tions F-1- 's unflyable 4 The IranIraq war has been going on for about eight years now The extent of hostilities and repeated international warnings by all conF-I- mined by untimely decisions made previously by the County Planning Commission Phases I and II of Solitude's own master plan have been approved and the county planning staff has assert ed that it will stand by the conditional use permit obtained by Solitude in 1982 for 320 units to accommodate destination skiers This is in effect a partial approval of Phase III of Solitude's long-terplan Scenario A makes dispersed recreation paramount in the area But Scenario A has some draw backs which make it practically unfeasible Private lands would have to be purchased by the county a county which could only marshal 8100000 In funds for this master plan Acquisition of private land is not a likelihood Scenario B boasts the worst intrusion into the canyons in this century — the Interconnect In its abbreviated form in Scenario B it would be some kind of transportation corridor from Park City to Brighton There has never been any demonstrated need for an "Interconnect" but it has reared its many ugly heads by appearing in scenarios B C and D As a member of the Citizens' Advisory Committee I have been part of this disillusioning process for a year I hope those who treasure the canyons as a beautiful inexpensive resource so close to a growing populace will make themselves heard in the public comment period ANN WECHSLER Offt to Al ' II fr- - i - fir 0) :1 -- - Ali US retaliation The Iranian Air Force has been without spare parts for its fo4 over nine years now Some are being used for parts in order to keep a few radar and HT flying The (identification friend or foe) electronics could easily be taken from an The canyon scenarios that will soon be released to the public will shock many who were relying on a master plan to further prevent the steady urbanization that has crept up the Cottonwood canyons Although the planning consultants from Bear West Inc have done a creditable study their efforts have been under- 4141 - an government approval That's whY the Iranians reacted so violently to Shocking Scenarios - :rj 411 '13' V- - 4C6 By °17°°:-tAA- ' )0 I i '"Alkaolik rNy it - )4(tv4134 willtr°4 -'' ' - 1A r - —0 ' 1 c4ae-tfi'4 4 AthpimitTlexPretylozejou s'77 ii-1l- Tribune Readers' Opinion 01 :A7W44" - ' fvre)1111111AD : - - t:i-i''''al I all' 4 NIN '' '1'‘C:1' 1 - fko- - -- i 4tPrf 0 - CV A I sci: 16 0111401c4i Gwsattcol The writer Is vice president of the World Resources Institute Las i sctlyA-Att- ' nr ' N: N '4't 11°'°R0k6 09 A '11 N mti 0 s tr:xterarev713csvei 4e be extremely costly and highly unlikely Instead of methanol the sensible route would be to do what most other countries are doing and use natural gas in automobiles in its cleanest and most efficient form — burnt directly as compressed natural gas If used only in centrally fueled urban fleets including trucks buses delivery vans Postal Service vehicles school buses government fleets etc metropolitan areas with the worst air pollution could derive the greatest benefit at the least cost to everyone The experience gained with these vehicles would help pave the way for a possible switch in the long term to hydrogen-fuelevehicles that emit neither greenhouse gases nor conventional pollutants The greenhouse problem is here to stay The sooner we recognize that and take modest steps to adjust the lower will be the eventual costs if as seems increasingly and when likely — limits on greenhouse emissions become necessary In the meantime let us not do something that must later be undone at great d cerned Forum Rules Public Forum letters must be submitted exclusively to The Tribune and bear writer's full name signature and address Names must be printed on political letters but may be withheld for good reason on others Writers are limited to one letter every 10 days Preference will be given to short typewritten (double spaced) letters permitting use of the writer's true name All letters are subject to condensation Mail to the Public Forum The Salt Lake Tribune PO Box 867 Salt Lake City Utah 84110 ir Save Our Canyons Guards' Chance The shooting down of Iranian airliner — mistake or setup? Consider expense the following: The Iranian government hasn't been able to control the fanatical Revolutionary Guards They seized the hostages in 1979 giving the government the responsibility to deal with it The mining of the Persian Gulf and the near sinking of an American frigate this year were caused by the guards without Irani Vote by Nielson Was a Vote Against Consumers By Michael Johnson And Eric Hard Special to The Tribune On the same day that 10 states joined an unprecedented antitrust lawsuit charging the Insurance industry with conspiracy to restrict coverage and create a "liability crisis" Utah Congressman Howard Nielson voted in favor of legislation that exonerates the industry and blames victims for the insurance crisis Promoted as an antidote to skyrocketing liability insurance rates the bill HR1115 is designed to relieve manufacturers from lawsuits by curtailing the rights of innocent people who are injured by poorly Made products When the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the bill June 14 Congressman Nielson lined up in support of the measure Although the bill's chief sponsor has tiRep Bill Richardson tled his bill the "Uniform Product Safety Act" and insists it is the measure is uniformly opposed by consumer organizations Support for the bill comes instead from corporations such as Pfizer producer of the defective Bjork-Shile- y prosthetic heart valve and AH Robins manufacturer of the Dalkon Shield IUD Indeed the legislation would grant manufacturers new immunities from liability for injuries suffered by victims of dangerously defective products Perhaps the cruelest blow delivered by the bill is to American workers In an age when an increasing number of diseases has been linked to toxic substances in the workplace manufacturers of many pollutants and contaminants would be relieved of any responsibility to those who t ' '11 --- f - a Bush ie in rs the' kakis ! Con-r- e of isitiv:: ! "pro-consume- ecefit Ilea lag e r the- and c rt the es Mi-- d Rev: lanian ! and in the rectir e vice le day! were ?Mire" as the By Robert Shepard United Press International WASHINGTON — A new twist has developed in the long controversy over political contributions and campaign finance with questions now being raised about members of Congress contributing money to each other 1 ' all of esire of hieetailect 1 Br Court' es Mcil ' le sug- - pursue ! is no' nd the! !paratil of - b - as he use he' 'he etbe 1I law-en- - g more' felony lry that months cted to al pros- nd San ill to bi involvp One House member -- qrs- — Rep — calls the Charles Bennett practice "dangerous" and has introD-F- I duced a bill to ban it The practice has drawn attention as a result of contests for leadership positions in the Congress Essentially these are elections and would appear to be the kind of events that would not involve campaign costs in the usual sense — no television ads no travel no mailings But some of the candidates have raised money from outside Congress and handed it out to their colleagues who also happen to be the voters in 1 these elections Anywhere else this would appear to be blatant and g illegal Lbut Congress often makes itself an lexception to rules that apply else where In the House three members are 1 'Ying for the post of chairman of the pem oc r a t ie Caucus generally conHdered the No 5 position in the Democratic leadership At least two t)f the candidates have raised several 1 I vote-buyin- 0 ivy The lens his charge what is ow the been a s escalating liability insurance premiums are a far more serious threat than lawsuits Indeed sponsors of the legislation including Mr Richardson himself have repeatedly cited the insurance crisis as the primary reason for such a law However in response to a pro- - 0- - - 1 cl i self-insu- re In return for the rights it takes from consumers the bill offers them little Presently one of the greatest burdens faced by victims seeking just compensation for their injuries is obtaining access to the product manufacturer's records Manufacturers know that without product-testin- g and design records plaintiffs often fail to prove their cases Hence many companies have insti- tuted document-destructio- n pro- grams to ensure that potential "smoking gun" documents never fall into a plaintiff's lawyer's hands Ford for example began a "document-control program" after a lawyer found a memo in its files showing that the company had rejected mak ing an $11 design change in the exploding Pinto because it had calculated that the lives likely to be lost were not worth the expenditure Not only does this common corporate practice effectively deny injured plaintiffs their day in court it also deprives the public of important Congress Should Ban are after Tice Mr Hard is staff attorney and Mr Johnson a policy analyst for Public Citizen a consumer and environmental advocacy group founded by Ralph Nader in 1971 diseases who seek to hold manufacturers accountable in court By making ignorance tantamount to an excuse — a standard of proof used by very few courts today — it would provide absolute immunity to manufacturers of many hazardous materials and leave vast numbers of future victims without recourse "Uniform Product Safety Act" they voted to give the candy store away to big business If the bill becomes law consumers will pay for it with diminished rights and reduced manufacturer incentives for product safety risk-retenti- ? groups ? 21 thousand dollars largely from lobbyists and plan to dispense the money to Democratic House candidates in the November election both inThe cumbents and election winners will meet late this year to choose the caucus chairman In the Senate two of the three candidates to be the next Democratic leader also have raised money — to doalso from outside Congress nate to fellow Democratic senators or would-b- e senators Bennett's bill would prohibit members from not only giving campaign money to other members of Congress or candidates for Congress but would also bar the handing out of personal funds thus ensuring that wealthy members would not have y more clout than the The bill would prohibit the solicitation or acceptance of contributions for congressional leadership elections "This is a very dangerous practice that ought to be stopped My bill does that in a very straightforward way" Bennett said Bennett makes the very logical argument that "leadership positions including committee chairmanships shouldn't be bought and sold They ought to be earned" Such posts should be filled on the basis of seniority Bennett suggests but he recognizes that the once-iro- n 1 i n :):!'i :'' ::::i '! 1 I 1 i' i i ' ‘" 'i j 7' i 'i:IF:t1 --!: s liability?" Consumers should not be fooled When Nielson and other members of the Energy and Commerce Committee approved the cynically named 1E ":"J 1 I'' i il 11 t' I Gifts' ' 11 I! if ''1 I7!! i T I i 41 f I i i I i I :I i i Rill 1 11 11 6 1' t- - 't ! :' t i f f i: I 1 1 I 1 ) Is 1 1 $ ): I I- ) I ! 1 ::1 1 i 1 ' - I: it 11' lit I ?i::: '''i ''': r ' :' :: A ‘14 :i:'4: ii" ii A 1 f Hli f) ii!: 1:: I ri t:' :i I i i ii '': t':: K i ' f - fi ! 11 ' 1 1 ! :i ii t 1 ''' : 1 :i ! ? 'o '' : ' k t I I! ' ' ' ' :: 1 f ' i ! f t t A -- - :' a :: ' :1 ! i i I:1 ' 1- I ! 0::- ' i ‘'''''''' :4:::: 1::: :::::: 1: ( ''i''':7:":k"'' 'k i" it i 14 'i ‘ 114— l't' '4! :: I 1 s'f t 1" ::: - t!it '41:': '''' ':' 1- 1 1 1 !:' i: -: k:::: I ii it 4'lli :: 1 ii—ii- i i ti :: i':ill it il' 1::' i t 1::: '': ''4 41' : elit--- ' 1 :: 'i i' '' i ': :: i:!! - f ? i 9f 1I 4 '': ::: : ' 1 :::41i::111-::::41::'- IA' :: 1 III kA 'ill o' f 1 '' 't i ' i!' if 1 il I t r il-- iff:rilk ' ' i k I 0 i ) 11:li I i 4 1 :'i::: :4 1 II g i :: i:i: l!'11"' ::: ::( 1 ! li I' ': l' e r(1 ::11 0 1 ' i1 '?1 )k '! ' 'i'f:la r 17'7: I I I' Fl:i I- : - 7 -1 i: z ' ( :41'itrio4-Ill- if f ! stretched arms The caption reads: "All in favor of a cap on our Unfortunately v-s- !::x3 :1 1:' c14 iri( vote their approval with out- clad congressional seniority system has largely fallen by the wayside But "absent the seniority system shouldn't the basis for election be more than who gave whom a thousand bucks?" Bennett asks Bennett has good reason to oppose the practice just on the merits but he also has some personal incentive feeling that he was a victim of it just two years ago In late 1986 when the Democrats were preparing for the opening of a new Congress Rep Melvin Price DIM the elderly chairman of the House Armed Services Committee was ousted in a coup led by Rep Les Aspin Aspin Bennett and then Rep Marvin Leath became candidates to succeed Price and Aspin ultimately won Bennett who was the most senior member of the committee attributes his defeat in part to the fact that Aspin and Leath made campaign contributions to other House Democrats He says election reports show a total of $125000 was distributed iiINI (le 1 Custom draperies: as essential as your windows posed requirement that insurance companies disclose data that would allow the federal government to assess the effect of product liability changes on insurance rates these same legislators rallied the committee to defeat the amendment If the bill an anathema to consumers is not designed to relieve small businesses whom is it supposed to benefit? The answer as is shown by the elite industry coalition that has ushered HR 1115 along each step of the way is big business In a recent New Yorker cartoon a group of corporate executives like children asked if they like candy In-Hou- se i i 1 50130 OFF r' !rs gn information concerning product hazards At the manufacturers' urging the committee voted down an amendment that would have restricted such practices by requiring manufacturers to retain such records for at least 25 years The committee chose also to ignore the liability concerns of small businesses by rejecting a provision linking the proposed legal changes to insurance rates For small businesses who cannot or join 'il is the others ty and ad ad! are poisoned The bill would dramatically increase the already heavy burden on victims of occupational particularly around the Straits of Hormuz is well known Flight corridors are well known by all airlines and civilian and military warning frequencies are adequately published and used But what if? The Revolutionary Guards man the speedboats and attack ships at random particularly in the straits The pilot of the airliner could have been descending while verbally claiming for the cockpit recorder and listeners that he was ascending The airliner departed from an airport used by both military and civilian aircraft All of this comes together into an Ingenious diabolical trap A few fa natical Revolutionary Guards put F 14 electronics into the airliner A willing pilot cooperates A diversion sets the stage for a tense situation The US Navy reacts in a predictable manner US carrier planes are unavailable to provide visual identification The plan is carried out The evidence is destroyed The Iranian government is legitimately surprised and outraged Iran has 290 martyrs The United States is branded the villain And most importantly the Revolutionary Guards obtain official sanction to carry on their terror under the guise of retaliation for now and beyond TED L JENSEN - 4 A23 The Public Forum Avrmi co ilircsAo ar he The Salt Lake Tribune Thursday July 14 1888 ' i: — decorator can show Elegantly pleated draperies Tailored tapered valances Soft Austrian shades Our extensive collection features over 200 fabrics from traditional antique satins and sheers to the most updated contemporary prints Everything e you want and need And our all we have to offer and give you decorating ideas in the comfort of your own home Call us for a complimentary inhome estimate and consultation at ext 670 Crossroads Plaza 524-266- Fashion Place Shop-At-Hom- 263-666- Custom Windows 6 6 ext 670 7512 the odds are against Bennett's bill ever becoming law and the practice of money exchanges probably will expand Members of Congress are reluctant to pull the plug on anything they believe smoothes the path to re election or additional power weinstockos )) 1 AN dm 40 4111 Amo—awcmeolk 44 01 |