Best Environmental News '95

Best Environmental News

CAP water turned off and recharge initiative turned on

READERS' PICK: Be careful what you wish for. A millennium ago, Arizona Senator Carl Hayden had a dream to make the desert (read-Phoenix) an oasis with water from the mighty Colorado River. It has been a long, pork-laden road from that bucolic vision to the vile, reeking ooze that plopped out of Tucson taps in late 1992. Customers were outraged, politicians publicly indignant, accusations flew at a dime on the dollar, and Tucson Water got all of the blame (like the CAP was all their idea to begin with). Quick, get us some water to throw on what has become an emotional tinderbox in the Old Pueblo. With the opening bell of the Beaudry-O'Reilly contretemps, we have our own Tucson version of Car Wars. The solution? Further treatment? New pipes? More money? Recharge? Like a mythical quest for the Holy Grail, this issue is a minefield of hidden landfills, chemical quandaries, untried technologies and political agendas, all with a history of unpredictable results. Only two things are certain. Water law and its history, as well as the mechanical aspect of the various proposals, are complicated beyond belief, and only a select few truly comprehend it--and they certainly don't agree. Secondly, as you may have surmised, the solution will be costly, and even then only a Band-Aid on the root problem of rampant, exponential growth.

READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: Sanctions were taken against Minerec Mining Chemicals for its detestable disregard for the environment. Minerec's dumping is a classic case of environmental racism: A company that produces toxic substances moves into a poor neighborhood and disposes of its deadly trash in their backyards. Minerec, which produces the herbicide Metam, decided to save a few dollars of cleanup money by dumping toxic hydrogen sulfide gas into sewers on the Tohono O'odham Nation's San Xavier District, sending dozens of residents to area hospitals. It isn't the first time Minerec has been hauled up before the judiciary--the company is now charged with 256 violations of county, state and federal ordinances on waste dumping--but Pima County finally got wise and revoked the permit that allowed Minerec to spew chemicals into public sewers in the first place. The county also plans to file suit to the tune of $6.4 million. High time, too.

STAFF PICK: Forget the Central Arizona Project and illegal emissions for now. We have a new airport thermometer. Global warming got you down? Feel like the ozone layer has depleted to the point where you need to wear an umbrella hat on your head even at night? All we can say is a very warm "thank you" to the powers that be who have, with one fell swoop, alleviated all this silly worrying about excessive sunrays and heat. One day this year, before the brochures for relocating Californians were sent out, meteorologists at Tucson International Airport figured out how to make it all better--get a new thermometer and move the blasted thing. Move it they did, to, surprise, a cooler spot at the airport. And on that July day when headlines blared Tucson Parches with 112 Degrees, we were still a full three degrees cooler than if the temp-taker had been in its old spot, thus saving us from yet another record-breaking summer day. We thank you, the Chamber of Commerce thanks you and our skin cancer specialists thank you. Our question is: Why stop at three degrees? Why not keep the city thermometer someplace even cooler--like inside a refrigerator? Then our summers would be positively arctic! Think of the advertising possibilities. Tucson--the Sonoran Winter Wonderland! We could, for example, use some lottery money to outfit prominent city officials in heavy parkas and thermal underwear and have them drive around town during the summer months, drinking hot cocoa, rubbing their hands together and complaining about the bitter wind-chill factor. (A little rouge strategically applied might be beneficial.) In a few years, once the concept takes hold, we could even put in a bid to host the Winter Olympics, or establish a professional hockey team. The possibilities are limited only by our imaginations.

CAT'S MEOW: The black bears on Mount Lemmon were active last summer. Back when we saw our first black bear on the Lemmon, in about 1985, we were impressed with the beast but, even more, we were frightened. Adult black bears weigh in at about 140 pounds, most of which is a powerful combination of instinct and wildness. Our encounter was peaceful and mutually respectful--we instinctively froze to the spot on the trail, and the bear continued on its path down a steep hillside, but not before issuing one mighty roar of warning, which we dutifully heeded. We learned this summer that some hikers were attacked by a black bear on the same trail (the Butterfly Trail). Some other bears were roaming campgrounds, looking for smoked wieners and Oreos. The good news: The increase in sightings of those beautiful brown-furred black bears. The bad news: The good people in the U.S. Forest Service and the Arizona Game and Fish Department have had to create a management plan that protects those bears from human stupidity. Because we'd like to return to the days when we part ways with the bears upon meeting them on the trail, we offer some simple words of advice to all. Like the rangers say, DON'T FEED THE BEARS! Pack your picnic supplies tightly away when you are not in the area. Leave no temptation. Try to leave the dog at home, or if you insist on taking it up the mountain, keep it leashed at all times. Here's the most difficult advice: Use some common sense. The black bears and other wildlife on the mountain are precisely that, wild.

1998 Winner: The Sonoran Desert Protection Plan
1997 Winner: No C.A.P. Crap!
1996 Winner: CAP Water In Washes