LETTERS: MOST MISSOURIANS HAVE ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

To the editor:

It is revealing to see the results of a recent poll conducted throughout the state on the environmental attitudes of Missouri's potential voters.

Despite, or maybe as a consequence of, the two year war that Congress has waged on human and environmental health, practiced under the banner of their Contract With America, nearly three-quarters of Missourians (both urban and rural residents alike) feel that environmental conditions are either the same or are worse than five years ago. Fewer than 30 percent see an improvement.Meanwhile, over 60 percent think that environmental laws are about right or don't go far enough in protecting the environment.From among the sectors of society that could possibly be considered responsible, business is identified as the primary culprit, while private individuals and government earn only minor blame. Notably, and encouragingly, despite the absurd and well-publicized arguments of such icons as Rush Limbaugh that natural causes (such as volcanic eruption destroying the ozone) are the main causes of environmental degradation, natural causes are seen by less than 1 percent of those polled as responsible.Those of us with a genuinely conservative attitude toward human and environmental health issues are thankful that the comments of uninformed and uneducated political commentators do not sway most potential voters. Furthermore, we hope that voters will keep in mind the attempted destructive legislation that this Congress has fought to enact when they go to the polls in both primary and general elections later this year. This item is newsworthy because the knee-jerk deregulators of Southeast Missouri, targeting environmental and human health as they wage their battles against the rest of us, need to know how far out of the mainstream of Missouri public opinion they are.

Alan Journet

Cape Girardeau