Word: wetland
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During his presidential campaign, George Bush promised "no net loss of wetlands." But under pressure from business, his Administration proposed a new definition of a wetland that would open at least 12 million hectares (30 million acres) of off-limits land to development. It was a good try, but opposition prompted the White House to back away, at least temporarily, from a policy change that...
William Reilly thought he had a deal. The besieged chief of the Environmental Protection Agency was certain Dan Quayle had agreed that any piece of land that was flooded or saturated with water for 15 consecutive days a year would constitute a "wetland" and deserved protection from private development. The next day Reilly received a call from Allan Hubbard, who heads Quayle's Council on Competitiveness, telling him the deal was off. Within days the council hatched a new plan, narrowing the definition of "wetness" by six extra days, satisfying a powerful coalition of farmers and builders and reducing America...
...Environment President proposed an energy policy that didn't call for alternative fuels, or mandatory conservation or anything so sensible, but for more exploration to fuel our consumption. Our environment president who promised that there would be zero loss of wetlands decided to redefine what a wetland was so he could open 33 percent of them to developers...
...only is wetland restoration expensive, but the vitality of restored wetlands also frequently proves disappointing. Initially, a new wetland created in south San Diego Bay seemed to do well -- until it became infested with tiny plant-sucking insects. Then scientists learned, to their dismay, that grasses in the artificial marsh did not grow high enough to provide the beetle predators of these pests with waterproof living quarters. Today, five years after its construction, this underachieving wetland continues to struggle along. Its grasses are stunted, its food web impoverished. Biologist Joy Zedler, director of San Diego State University's Pacific Estuarine...
...Administration has proposed a new manual that relaxes the rules. It designates as wetlands areas having 15 consecutive days of inundation during a growing season or 21 days in which the soil is saturated with water up to the surface. Moreover it redefines the growing season to be shorter and reduces the variety of plants that qualify an area as a wetland. The provision requiring proof of no viable alternative to filling in a wetland will apply only to "highly valuable" areas -- the top rung on a new classification ladder to be worked out over the next year...