Part of what makes an outstanding society outstanding is the respect it demonstrates for its own natural resources, including its parks and open space. And, we are an outstanding society. Look at what we are doing to keep alive our Grand Canyon.

Yes, it is true that the Grand Canyon is under environmental attack. According to the Wilderness Society, Arizona's Grand Canyon is one of the 15 most endangered wildlands in United States. The organization anticipates irreparable injury to the Grand Canyon if corrective measures are not promptly taken. But, corrective action is being taken.

One kind of pollution that concerns environmentalists is noise pollution. To address this, the Federal Aviation Administration placed a freeze on the number of commercial tourist flights that may take to the skies over the park. Apparently, human generated noises from airplanes, boats and other man made sources are drowning out the park's natural sounds.

It has reportedly gotten to the point where wildlife is becoming adversely affected. Reportedly, during daylight hours, tourist planes can be heard every nine seconds. Every NINE seconds. It does sound maddening, doesn't it?

Humans can be just too darn noisy for their own good. Now, the government is shushing all of us if an effort to maintain natural order in one of our most important national treasures. Your would think that we could all breathe easier now.

But, not quite yet. You see, the air has become dirtier and dirtier in the Canyon as well. Again, its us humans. One of the largest causes, though there are many, is apparently smog from nearby utility plants.

Here again, we are reacting. In 1990, Congress created the Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission to address the dirty air problem in the park's vicinity. The Commission consists of eight State governors, tribal representatives and representatives of several federal agencies.

One of the initial tasks was the creation of an inventory of all sources of air pollution affecting the Canyon area. This included forest fires, coal combustion, smelter's, residential combustion sources, factory sources, and others.

The attention to this issue has yielded progress.. Late last year, a major coal burning power plant agreed to install pollution control equipment to settle a federal lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club and others. The utility agreed to a install scrubbers, filters and new burners, aimed at reducing the release of smog creating gases and particulates.

By some estimates, improvements at this facility will reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by at least 85 percent. The project should be completed shortly at an approximately $300 million price tag.

The last few years have been bad public relations year for some utility companies. According to a report from the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation's 100 top power companies are responsible for many smog causing releases throughout the United States. At least for the Grand Canyon area, this source of air pollution will hopefully be controlled.

So, some steps have now been taken which may clear and quiet the air over the Grand Canyon. We need to keep up the good work, and perhaps even step up the pace

The information provided in this column is written by Stuart Lieberman,a practicing environmental attorney, and is for general information purposes only. It is not legal advice and should not be used in place of legal advice.

Stuart Lieberman, Esq., and IRED.Com, Inc., will not accept any responsibilty for any reliance on the information in this column or any damages whatsoever resulting from reading this column.