U.S. COMMITTED TO ENVIRONMENTAL PRUDENCE

The Kyoto Treaty -- named for the Japanese city where it was drafted -- is intended to be an environmental blueprint for the world. Emissaries working on behalf of the Bill Clinton White House joined proponents who sought to set strict and exacting standards that mostly affected industrialized nations whose factories and chemicals cause most of today's man-made pollution.

So far, no industrialized nation has ratified the treaty. And last week President Bush announced his rejection of the treaty, a decision that echoed an overwhelming Senate vote against the Kyoto protocol.

In the relatively short time the Kyoto Treaty has been in existence, it has come to symbolize the last and, some say, the only hope for the environmental survival of our planet. But cooler heads still insist that the science behind the treaty's conclusions is flawed, and the burden the treaty places on developed nations is unacceptable.

The pity is that opponents to the treaty have been branded as anti-environmentalists. There are still those who believe anything short of the Kyoto Treaty's provision is a sellout to polluting industries -- the same industries that feed, clothe and house much of the world.

When the intricate parts of the treaty are examined closely, there are signs that the impact on U.S. industries, farms and households would have been untenable. In major agricultural areas of our nation, such as Southeast Missouri, the treaty's impact would have had two disastrous consequences: The cost of farming would have skyrocketed beyond the means of any farmer to stay in business. And the cost of farm products would have risen to levels unacceptable to consumers.

Rejection of the Kyoto Treaty, however, doesn't give any nation, including the United States, a free pass to environmental indifference. This nation's record of cleaning up its streams, it water supplies and its air, while restoring forests, croplands and wildlife, is the most enviable of any country in the world. There is no reason at all to believe the United States will abandon its environmental responsibilities simply because it won't support the Kyoto dictates.

Prudent and responsible attention to our nation's resources are the least any American expects. Presidential administrations, Congress, state legislatures, city and county governments and private citizens will, by and large, still be wise stewards of our land, our water and our air.

With common sense, the future of our environment is secure. Any nation that desires to be a good world citizen will act accordingly, Kyoto Treaty or no Kyoto Treaty.