Date: Thu, 22 Jun 1995 00:54:28 -0600 From: Amy Moritz <73317.1576@compuserve.com> (by way of markw@clark.net Issue 96 * June 19, 1995 The National Center for Public Policy Research Amy Moritz, President 300 Eye Street N.E. Suite 3 * Washington, D.C. 20002 (202) 543-1286 * Fax (202) 543-4779 E-Mail: 73317.1576@compuserve.com Activities at the June 9 Environmental Policy Task Force Meeting chaired by David Ridenour of The National Center for Public Policy Research. Sponsored by The National Center for Policy Research (202/543-1286). * No, We're Not Kidding: The U.S. Ratified A Treaty To Ban the Sale of Used Clothing Following his introduction by R.J. Smith of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Dr. Ray Evans of the Western Mining Center of Australia, reported on the Basel Convention, an international environmental trade treaty ratified by the U.S. Senate during the Bush Administration but not yet in effect because the U.S. Congress has yet to pass the necessary implementing legislation. Under the terms of the Basel Convention the population of the world is divided into two classes (those who are citizens of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries and those who are not, the latter group being the great majority of the world's population), and trade in a large range of materials is banned between those two groups. The Basel Convention Treaty would, quoting from the treaty preamble, make certain that "hazardous wastes and other wastes... be disposed of in the state in which they were generated." The effect of the Treaty would be to ban international trade in computer scrap, used car batteries, used clothing and other items. Evans reported that implementation would ban the $2 billion worth of used clothing that currently goes from the U.S. to the Third World, and said that this is intentional: Greenpeace and the European states who initiated Basel fear that used clothing might contain minute amounts of environmental contaminants, and thus they seek to ban this trade. Similarly, Evans said, the conversion of First World computer scrap into other products have become a significant job creator in India and other Third World countries, yet this would be banned under Basel. He distributed handouts. Contact the Competitive Enterprise Institute at 202/331-1010. * Endangered Species Act Reforms Reviewed Myron Ebell of the staff of Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ), R.J. Smith of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and Dennis Hollingsworth of the Riverside, California Farm Bureau discussed the Endangered Species Recovery Act. Ebell commented that the bill meets Newt Gingrich's three criterion for environmental legislation: 1) economically sound; 2) biologically sound; 3) protects property rights. Ebell noted that the current ESA fails because it encourages people to engage in practices against species they otherwise would not engage in. Ebell distributed a handout. Dennis Hollingsworth expressed his view that environmentalists are "just putting more carrots on the same stick" by using "incentives" to sweeten the Endangered Species Act in an attempt to blunt widespread landowner opposition to it. According to Hollingsworth, "land owners don't mind having wildlife on their land, they mind having the Feds on their land," and simply adding "takings" compensation to current federal policies and practices will not solve the problems. Contact John Shadeqq's office at 202/225-3361, the Competitive Enterprise Institute at 202/331-1010 or the Riverside, California Farm Bureau at 909/684-6732.