pecka.back@swipnet.seHowever, I believe that all strange and ignorant statements made by many famous people, especially in leading positions (definitely not only Americans!), must be a warning to you: Don´t belive all they say - use your own mind!
"We've
got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?"
-
L. I., Chrysler (On Detroit's resistance to
tougher auto emission standards.)
"Eighty
percent of air pollution comes from plants and trees."
-
R. R., former U.S. President
"Trees
cause more pollution than automobiles do."
-
R. R., former U.S. President (1981)
"I
have flown twice over Mt St Helens out on our west coast. I'm not a scientist
and I don't know the figures, but I have a suspicion that one little mountain
has probably released more sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere of the world
than has been released in the last ten years of automobile driving or things
of that kind that people are so concerned about."
-
R. R., former U.S. President (1981.
Yes, people are concerned but appearantly not some of their leaders...
Actually, Mount St. Helens, at its peak activity, emitted about 2,000 tons
of sulphur dioxide per day, which is only a small fraction compared to
the cars, other pollutants and CO2 emitted by cars not counted...)
Studenten:
"Finns det nå´n risk att ämnen
i vägens asfaltsbeläggning sprids och förorenar omgivningen?"
Professorn:
"Nej! Är du nå´n slags miljö-nisse,
eller...?"
(Hämtat
från verkliga livet under mitt första studieår på
KTH år 1990 under en föreläsning i Vägbyggnad. Är
det någon som tycker att det som hände vid Hallandsåsen
var oväntat? Knappast....)
"Sure,
it's going to kill a lot of people, but they may be dying of something
else anyway."
-
O. B., member of a Texas pesticide review board (On
the pesticide chlordane.)
"I've
always thought that underpopulated countries in Africa are vastly underpolluted."
-
L. S., chief economist of the World Bank (He tries to explain why
U.S. should export toxic wastes to Third World countries.)
"Mr
Speaker.... introducing the grizzlies into Idaho is like pouring toxic
substance into a water supply."
-
H. C., U.S. Congressman (Said in a speech where she criticized U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service for the plans to reestablish the grizzly bears
in a forest area where they previously lived.)
"If
you've seen one Redwood tree, you've seen them all."
-
R. R., former U.S. President (Forestry expert?)
"The
fish is available in a can in grocery stores."
-
H. C., U.S. Congressman (She said this 1994 when faced with conservationists
concerned about the endangered Snake River sockeye salmon in Idaho. This
is not exactly how she put the words (unknown to me) but the meaning is
accurate.)
”It
isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in
our air and water that are doing it.”
-
D. Q., former U.S. Vice-President
pecka.back@swipnet.se