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A Good Environmental Decision From Washington Stuart Lieberman, Esq., Just when I was convinced that Washington could not get even one environmental decision right, the Feds proved me wrong. And I am happy to admit it. In mid-April 2003 the White House announced that it will order the extension of a Presidential Task Force on Environmental Health and Safety Risks to Children. This Task Force has been focusing on asthma, unintentional injuries, and developmental disorders, including lead poisoning. The Task Force is also evaluating cancer in children. It hasn't been easy to find a nice thing to say about this Administration's attitude concerning the environment. From relaxing some drinking water standards and thus enabling us to consume dirtier water, to relaxing air quality standards with similar results to the air that we breathe, there have been few glimmers of hope. This is at least a glimmer. Actually, the Task Force was created by President Clinton. It was established in April 1997 by Executive Order and directed each Federal Agency to make it a high priority to identify, assess, and address children's environmental health and safety risks. But let's not dwell on whose idea it was, at least this President didn't kill the Task Force as he has other pro-environment Clinton initiatives. I suspect the Task Force survived because usually Task Forces are little more than window dressing. A President or Governor is most inclined to create a Task Force when he or she wants to create the illusion that something is being done. Task Force members are usually charged with issuing a report, which receives some press attention, and then is filed in the Library of Commerce so that historians can opine that the President (or whomever) cared about some issue. This Task Force is also suppose to issue a report following a multi-year study. But at this stage I think we should be grateful for this Task Force extension, whether or not it really will have the power to make change. Something, in this case any thing, is better than nothing. And with recent reports advising that childhood asthma is nearly out of control in some cities, hopefully this effort will keep the light on these issues. An estimated 6.3 million children under 18 years of age suffered from asthma in 2001. Asthma was the fourth ranking cause of hospitalization among children less than 15 years of age. Reportedly, the disease disproportionately affects children from lower-income families and children from different racial and ethnic groups. The government also advises that nearly 430,000 American children between the ages of one to five had elevated blood lead levels that can cause irreversible disabilities such as lower IQ and neurological damage. Since it is hard to measure the true extent of lead poisoning, I am not convinced that the figure is this low. The Task Force will implement a study of 100,000 children from pre-birth into adulthood. It will evaluate connections between environmental factors and health effects. We now know that our environment has harmed many of our kids by making it difficult for them to breathe of think clearly. Collectively, we need to find workable solutions to address these problems. Let's therefore hope that the Task Force gives us something more substantial than some good reading material.
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.
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