IN THE 1992 campaign for US President, candidate Ross Perot warned that if the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) passed, the country would hear what he called 鈥渁 giant sucking sound鈥�. He referred to the loss of US jobs that he predicted would be 鈥渟ucked鈥� across the Mexican border to be filled by lower-paid workers. Perot didn鈥檛 win the election, NAFTA passed and the sucking sound, if it occurred, was drowned out by the go-go nineties and a booming stock market.
But there鈥檚 another sucking sound in the making, this time courtesy of the voters of California. In the last election, the good people of that state passed Proposition 71, which called for the state to issue bonds that would provide $3 billion for embryonic stem cell research over the next 10 years.
Even in the US $3 billion is a lot of money. It鈥檚 especially so when you realise that the federal government is currently spending less than $30 million a year on this research, thanks in large part to the restrictions that President George W. Bush has placed on federal support for embryonic stem cell research.
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The sucking sound will come from researchers abandoning the restrictive policies of the other 49 states and heading west. Not only does Proposition 71 provide money, it ensures a friendly climate for stem cell researchers. By way of contrast, researchers in Massachusetts must get permission from the district attorney in order to derive embryonic stem cells. Some people see the process as tantamount to murder. And who wants to go to the slammer for trying to use stem cells to cure diseases?
THE status of the environment is what political analysts in the US call a second-tier issue. During the recent election, one might suggest it slipped below even that lowly position. Few words were spoken about the environment during Bush and Senator John Kerry鈥檚 debates; both candidates uttered the usual reassurances about protecting public health, clean air and water, wild land and the animals that live in it. But there was no real debate on what to do about any of it, let alone big problems like curbing global warming.
All the more reason for fear and trepidation among environmental groups in Washington. The public didn鈥檛 demand a reckoning from Bush or an environmental agenda from Kerry. So the worry is that Bush will feel emboldened to do whatever he wants because the public doesn鈥檛 care much.
Eco-groups are now huddled at retreats and seminars to figure out how to hold off what they see as the coming dismemberment of the environmental protections won over the past 35 years. Of major concern is a big drop in the number of enforcement actions taken by the government against polluters, and a perceived disregard by Bush鈥檚 officials for scientific results that don鈥檛 match their political agenda.
But there could be a silver lining or two. One strategy being discussed is to move the battleground away from Washington DC to each of the 50 state capitals, where environmental groups could have their way through state laws and regulations.
