OPINION/COMMENTARY

2004 Study on the state of the environment

Pacific Research Institute, a free-market policy research think tank, has just released the ninth annual review of the nation's most critical environmental trends. A FREE download of the study, based on the latest government statistics, is available here.

The report, the Index of Leading Environmental Indicators, is widely cited by prominent journalists, lawmakers, and business leaders as an illuminating and indispensable resource.

This year's edition has received national media attention in outlets such as: The New York Times, U.S. News and World Report, CNNfn, Foxnews.com, and more than 1,500 radio stations nationwide.

The Index features important statistics and trends in:

* Air quality

* Water quality

* Toxic releases

* Climate change

* Species and habitat conservation

* Public land management

The Index is published each year by the Pacific Research Institute, a non-profit, non-partisan policy think tank based in San Francisco.

Ninth Circuit, Once Again, Upholds Decision Ordering Federal Fisheries Agency to Treat Hatchery Fish Equally

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected a petition for rehearing en banc by environmentalist groups seeking to overturn Pacific Legal Foundation’s landmark victory in Alsea Valley Alliance v. Evans. The environmentalists requested a rehearing by the full Ninth Circuit Court after a three-judge panel denied their attempt to appeal the federal trial court decision in February. The Ninth Circuit's decision once again upholds Judge Hogan's 2001 ruling that Oregon Coast coho salmon had been illegally listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.

"We welcome the news that the Ninth Circuit has rejected this latest attempt by activists to overturn Judge Hogan’s correct decision setting aside the listing of the Oregon Coast coho," said PLF attorney Russ Brooks. "The court’s latest rejection of the environmentalists’ position should make it loud and clear that the federal government must fully comply with Judge Hogan’s ruling and that anything less will not pass legal muster."

Alsea Valley Alliance v. Evans is one of the most groundbreaking environmental decisions of the last decade. U.S. District Court Judge Michael Hogan ruled that the National Marine Fisheries Service (now "NOAA Fisheries") acted illegally by counting only naturally spawned salmon, and disregarding hatchery spawned salmon, when deciding whether or not to list the Oregon Coast coho as a protected species. Rather than appeal the district court’s decision, NOAA Fisheries chose to comply with the order and instituted status reviews of 26 salmon and steelhead listings across the Western states. Several environmentalist groups, however, appealed the decision....

This Is Not Your Father's Sierra Club

The Sierra Club has increasingly aligned itself with animal-rights activists, and even has a national leader best known for steering the animal liberation "navy." Sierra Club board member and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society leader "Captain" Paul Watson told activists at an animal rights conference: "We should never feel like we're going too far in breaking the law, because whatever laws you break to liberate animals or to protect the environment are very insignificant."

Sierra Club Board Chair Lisa Renstrom notes: "The Club could begin to include animal rights positions in decades to come as members and the American public acknowledge the impact of our high animal protein diet on sustainability." Perhaps that's why Club chapters have pushed People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals's Vegetarian Starter Kit.

The Club's "sustainable consumption committee" issued a report in 2000 that listed "eating less meat" as a "Priority Action for American Consumers," right alongside "buying a fuel-efficient car." Joan Zacharias, one of this committee's leaders, is scheduled to address the "Animal Rights 2004" convention in Virginia next month. Her influence is seen in the committee's stated goal of developing "stronger ties with vegetarian organizations."....