posted
Yeah, he said it, during the 1980 campaign. I don't have a cite quite yet, but I'll work to it and get back to you. As I recall, the context was that he'd gotten hold of a news report about an actual scientific study which points out that the carbon dioxide produced by trees in the process of photosynthesis does contribute to the haze over our national park lands and other wooded areas. However, haze does not necessarily equal pollution, just reduced visibility, and this haze usually contains other elements which are indeed considered contaminants. Back at ya later.
------------------ Kiwibird It's the bird, not the fruit! The Kiwi Bird Page
Geez, now I'm STUFFING!
[This message has been edited by Kiwibird (edited 11-01-2000).]
posted
OK, I wrote the Reagan Library. They're still getting set up, and don't have all the papers yet. Here's what they say...
"Thank you for your e-mail inquiry. We do not have access to the1980 campaign materials, however we did check secondary sources in our library. The New York Times index shows that Reagan had a news conference in Los Angeles on August 17, 1980 stating that at the Decmocratic Convention Senator Kennedy had distorted Reagan's statement. We could not locate the exact date of the "tree" statement by Reagan."
So, it sounds like he said it, all right!
------------------ Kiwibird It's the bird, not the fruit! The Kiwi Bird Page
quote:Originally posted by Kiwibird: OK, I wrote the Reagan Library. They're still getting set up, and don't have all the papers yet. Here's what they say...
"Thank you for your e-mail inquiry. We do not have access to the1980 campaign materials, however we did check secondary sources in our library. The New York Times index shows that Reagan had a news conference in Los Angeles on August 17, 1980 stating that at the Decmocratic Convention Senator Kennedy had distorted Reagan's statement. We could not locate the exact date of the "tree" statement by Reagan."
So, it sounds like he said it, all right!
Which brings to mind a potential UL related to this. Supposedly, shortly after Reagan made that statement, someone at a west-coast college (usually cited as Berkley) hung a sign on one of the trees on campus which read "Chop me down before I kill again". Anyone else remember hearing this?
posted
Actually, didn't Ronald Reagan count "Bovine Flatulence" as the biggest cause of Air Pollution/Global Warming/Anything found wrong with the Ozone Layer?
Didn't Ronny also make a movie back in WWII where he played a pilot who kept shooting his Squadron Mates down, because he couldn't tell the difference between a P-40 Warhawk & a Japanese Zero?
posted
Here's what Reagan said, in September 1980: "Approximately 80 percent of our air pollution stems from hydrocarbons released by vegetation, so let's not go overboard in setting and enforcing tough emission standards from man-made sources.''
A month later, he denied what he had said: "First of all, I didn't say 80 percent. I said 92 percent, 93 percent, pardon me. And I didn't say air pollution, I said oxides of nitrogen, And I am right. Growing and decaying vegetation in this land are responsible for 93 percent of the oxides of nitrogen.''
OK. In the first place, hydrocarbons are not an air pollution problem. Trees decay into nitrous oxide, which are not a serious health threat. On the other hand, oxides of nitrogen are a serious problem, and are regulated by the EPA. But, of course, Reagan's "facts'' had little to do with the truth. Industrial sources -- not trees -- are responsible for 65 percent to 90 percent of the oxides of nitrogen in this country.
Source: Ronald Reagan's Reign of Error, based on information gleaned from the Sierra Club, the L.A. Times, and the Environmental Defense Fund.
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic
