Word: mays
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Still, while the critics may be down, they are not out. The public may think such issues as the imminence of global warming and the danger of toxic wastes are settled, but scientists do not. Their disagreements about ecological threats make life uncomfortable for the activists, who fear that any apparent uncertainty will give policymakers an excuse for inaction. Critics respond that environmental false alarms have produced bad policy. While some naysayers are economists, industrialists and bureaucrats who view environmentalism as an irrelevant disruption of the real business of the world, others are sophisticated scientists who maintain that...
Stephen Schneider of the National Center for Atmospheric Research responds that waiting for absolute certainty about global warming will produce many years of policy paralysis. Thomas Lovejoy of the Smithsonian Institution agrees, noting that societies may pay a price for doing nothing that outweighs ) the expense of prudent preparation. While the world hailed the 1987 Montreal Protocol, designed to reduce chlorofluorocarbon output, the destruction of the ozone layer continued to accelerate because of CFCs already in use. Atmospheric chemist Sherwood Rowland of the University of California at Irvine is worried that similar delays in dealing with global warming will produce...
...multitude of ways to do that: recycle paper, aluminum, tin, glass, motor oil and car batteries. Reuse bottles, containers and shopping bags, or at least choose paper bags over plastic at the supermarket. And do not be fooled by the BIODEGRADABLE label on some new plastic products. They may not in fact break down, and those that do may take as long as 500 years. When something tears, wears or breaks, repair it instead of replacing...
...People may think they can change only their own life-styles, but their influence extends far beyond their homes, cars and offices. Americans can put their money where their ideals are by investing in companies that respect Mother Nature. Several mutual funds have been set up to buy shares only in corporations judged to follow the Valdez Principles, a set of guidelines for environmentally sound practices. Most important of all, Americans, like the citizens of all democracies, have the ultimate political power to enforce their will. If they are anxious to have a cleaner, safer, healthier environment for themselves...
Among the most important steps that any company can take is to launch an all-out campaign to conserve energy. Such a drive can cut fuel bills sharply and at the same time reduce the pollution that contributes to smog, acid rain and the greenhouse effect. Most companies may think they use energy wisely, but few have invested in the most energy-efficient equipment and lighting systems. Contends Amory Lovins, director of research at the Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Institute: "The technology exists today to save 75% of the electricity and 80% of the oil used in the U.S. without...