1. Alarm Grows Over Bush Administration's Environmental Rollbacks Looks like more and more people are realizing that our hard-won environmental protections are not exactly in the safest hands with the current administration. An "op-ad" produced by the on-line magazine TomPaine.com, which will appear in tomorrow's New York Times, highlights another government attempt to make life easier for corporate polluters: a recent decision by EPA chief Christie Whitman that would delay Clean Air Act rules for another two years, even though they're already more than a year overdue. This latest move comes on top of the administration's rejection of a world-wide pact to reduce global warming pollution, its attempt to weaken rules against arsenic in drinking water, and its efforts to allow mining, logging and road-building in our National Forests. Perhaps the country is starting to sit up and take notice... To see the full "op-ad" piece, go to http://www.tompaine.com ---- 2. Smoggy Thinking on Air Quality What's that about? Cincinnati's air is too dirty, according to the EPA, which has placed the city, and several surrounding counties in Ohio, back on its air-quality black-list. The Queen city is now at risk of losing federal highway funds. But the EPA has given clean bills of health to two northern Kentucky counties which make up part of metropolitan Cincinnati! Maybe the EPA hasn't figured out that air doesn't respect city limits. "This is one big region, and the air affects everybody," said Marilyn Wall of the Ohio Chapter of the Sierra Club, which was instrumental in ensuring that the EPA flagged Cincy's noncompliance. Looks like the Sierra Club could teach the country's top environmental enforcement agency a thing or two about air quality. For more information, go to http://www.cincypost.com/2002/mar/13/ozone031302.html Erin Jordahl Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club 3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280 Des Moines, IA 50310 515-277-8868 [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask]