| WASHINGTON
- September 16 - The Clinton/Gore
administration scored poorly in an interim Ozone Protection Report
Card issued today by Friends of the Earth. The Administration's
overall grade was a "D" when evaluated in 15 areas of ozone layer
protection activities.
Gore, once dubbed the "Ozone Man" for his frequent public comments
about the need to address the problem of ozone depletion, has been
noticeably quiet about the issue despite a report in October 1998 by
NASA that the ozone hole over the Antarctic was larger than ever.
"Gore's lack of action to protect the ozone layer threatens
millions more cases of skin cancer," said Friends of the Earth
president Dr. Brent Blackwelder. "It's about time the 'Ozone Man'
lived up to his name."
A thinner ozone layer allows more ultraviolet radiation (UV) to
reach the Earth's surface and increases the risks of skin cancer and
eye cataracts. This is especially alarming considering that the
incidence of skin cancer is increasing faster than all other cancers
in the United States. The incidence of malignant melanoma skin
cancers has grown 4 percent per year since the early 1970s in the
U.S. Twenty-five million cataract operations are now performed
annually in the United States.
Scientists have noted that for each sustained 10 percent reduction
in stratospheric ozone, the risk of malignant melanoma increases by
10 percent, and the risk of non-melanoma skin cancer increases by
26 percent. For every annual 1 percent decrease in the ozone layer,
100,000 to 150,000 new cases of cataracts will develop worldwide.
On Sept. 10, New Zealand scientists noted a 12 percent increase in
UV light reaching the Earth's surface since the beginning of the
1990s due to lower year-round ozone levels in the Southern
Hemisphere.
In the fall of 1998, Clinton and Gore silently allowed an
appropriations bill rider to eliminate the Clean Air Act requirement
that would have phased out methyl bromide, one of the most potent
ozone destroying chemicals and an extremely toxic pesticide, by the
year 2001.
In addition, at a meeting of nations convened in Geneva in June
under the Montreal Protocol treaty, the U.S. delegation failed to:
-- Clearly state to the Parties to the Montreal Protocol their
support of the proposal to replenish the Multilateral Fund at the
$506 million level.
-- Cap and set a phase out schedule for methyl bromide fumigation
of shipping containers and goods in international commerce.
-- Stop promoting HCFCs (less potent ozone-depleting chemicals)
and HFCs (global warming gases) in other countries when benign
alternatives exist. The U.S. opposed a proposal by European nations
to more rapidly eliminate these chemicals.
Each of these actions was specifically requested by Friends of the
Earth, Ozone Action and the Environmental Working Group in a letter
to Clinton and Gore on June 10.
Regarding Gore's overall performance on ozone protection,
Blackwelder concluded, "The Vice President has been long on rhetoric
and short on substance and performance."
Friends of the Earth (FoE) has been a leading organization in the
effort to protect the Earth's ozone layer since 1986. More
information about the ozone layer may be found at the FoE website at
http://www.foe.org/ptp/atmosphere
------
To obtain a copy of the Interim Ozone Report Card by fax, contact
Keira Costic at 202-783-7400, ext. 101, or view it at:
http://www.foe.org/ptp/ozonereportcard
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