EDITOR:

Didn’t go to Woodstock, did go to one of the first “Earth Days” (1970) in Ann Arbor. It is not uncommon to hear “Woodstock” as a concept that altered many facets of American life. It is still used as a point of reference in our culture. “Earth Day… not so much, even though it is generally accepted as the origin of the ecological (now “green”) movement.

I’ve been following environmental activities for over 50 years and cannot recall a headline touting its successes. “Environmental Mandate Credited for Improvement in (fill in the blank)” has never been printed on any front page. So why not? Where are the stories of grand improvement in the environment directly attributed to some “green” policy?

I suspect the reason is no one can agree on a scientifically supported point from which to start the measurements… there is no way to determine if progress has been made. How do you know how much “X” has increased/decreased when you can’t agree on what “X” was when it started.

Let’s arbitrarily (the bulk of these arguments are) begin with 1970 as the basis for measurement. We’ll say that the scientific calculations of all the factors will form the basis for measurement going forward from there. That was the period where the parameters concerning the concentrations of greenhouse gasses, water pollutants, air pollutants (particulates), consumables, etc. came into consideration as “destructive” for the environment. However, there was no consistent agreement on what the values for the aforementioned problems were supposed to be (and what are the credentials of those who decided that).

From then on, an alphabet of government agencies arose professing (so they can continually get funding) their methods, results and dire predictions were the ones to be accepted. Rules, regulations and restrictions were promulgated to control everything that passes through human activities into the environment from origin to end product and byproduct (an aside: anything called a “waste” just hasn’t found a market yet). Attempts to control what we eat, drive, cook with, clean with, etc. persist and widen today. How’s that solar oven working for you?

After all this time, we still don’t know how to measure success or explain where, when or how we will cross some fantasy goal line into a “pure”, “safe” etc. environment. How do we know we’ve reached the “Garden of Eden”? We may know where we’ve been, we wonder where we’re going, we don’t know when we’ll get there or what it will look like when we do. If we have had no successes, have we simply failed? Don’t know…we just continue to fund and follow EPA dictates.

Perhaps the final insult is Joe Biden’s consideration of issuing a “State of Environmental Crisis ” with its increased costs, regulations and restrictions. How will we measure the success/failure of the outcomes of this proclamation?

So… do I believe in “climate change”, yeah… but so what? It will never stop changing.

Michael A. Glass

Nahma