Slouch
by Jim Earle
Check your caption below:
Use yesterday’s caption here.
Use tomorrow’s caption here.
I’ll take anything.
Make up your own.
Opinion
Carter’s speech warns USSR
Taking a hard stance against “terrorism and aggres
sion,” President Carter gave his State of the Union address
Wednesday night before Congress.
He told Iran that if the 50 American hostages being held
1C in Iran were harmed, they would have a severe price to pay.
He warned the U.S.S.R. that any further aggression in
the Mid-East would be met militarily.
And to meet the state of world affairs, Carter said he
would introduce legislation next month to begin Selective
Service registration again.
Carter did not reinstate the draft, but he made it clear that
the draft would be reinstated if necessary.
So the long, anxious wait begins for males between the
ages of 18 and 26.
Hopefully, the president will not start the draft again. But
given the state of world affairs, it may be necessary very
soon. It would be difficult for the United States to sit back
and watch further Soviet aggression.
Russia has invaded and conquered Afghanistan. Pulling
out of the Olympics and stopping grain shipments may make
them pause and think, but it is doubtful these measures will
stop them from more invasions.
Carter should work for a peaceful settlement to the crisis,
but the United States must begin preparations for war once
again.
Reinstatement of the Selective Service system is the first
step. Time will tell if more steps are necessary.
With Carter taking the initiative in a bold stance against
the U.S.S.R., maybe the people of the United States and
the world will realize the seriousness of the situation.
Russia has never taken condemnations by the United
States seriously before. Now Carter has said he would take
military action against the U.S.S.R. if necessary. This linked
with the possibility of strengthening U. S. forces through the
draft should make the Soviets take a look at their recent
behavior.
The Battalion
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Viewpoint
The Battalion
Texas A&M University
Thursday
January 24, 1980
Soviet industry manufacturing goods ;
polluting environment at frantic pact:
By GUNTER HAAF
(Haff writes on science and technology for
Die Zeit, the West German weekly.)
Communist countries have long claimed
superiority over capitalist societies in pro
tecting the environment. But now a new
book, smuggled out of the Soviet Union
and published here in West Germany, re
veals that pollution in Russia is just as bad
as it is in the West — if not worse.
The difference, though, is that informa
tion on environmental conditions in the
Soviet Union is a secret tightly held by the
government because, as its author says,
such data are “state property along with the
soil, the rivers, the forests and their inhabi
tants, including animals. ”
The author of the book, who signs him
self with the apparent pseudonym “Boris
Komarow,” is evidently a dissident Soviet
scientist. Unless his volume is total fabrica
tion, which seems unlikely, he has had ac
cess to classified Russian studies and to
other dissident Soviet ecologists.
Despite official Kremlin denials of any
environment problems in the Soviet Un
ion, he discloses several cases of crimes
committed against nature by man.
At the end of 1977, for instance, black
snow fell in Moscow — the result of soot
from factory chimneys polluting snow crys
tals in the upper atmosphere.
Though marine biologists estimate that
underwater flora and fauna cannot survive
more than two tons of petroleum pollution
per year along a coastal stretch of one kilo
meter, Soviet industries annually spill 50
times that amount of oil into rivers that feed
into the Black Sea.
In the spring of 1976, Russian ornitho
logists banded 300 young wild ducks on a
Siberian lake in order to trace their move
ments. By autumn, all except one had been
illegally shot by hunters.
In citing these and other cases, Komarow
makes the case that the Soviet ethic in re
gard to the environment is that Commun
ism is supposed to dominate nature, which
is considered to be the enemy of progress.
One of the most flagrant examples of natu
ral damage, he asserts, has taken place at
Lake Baikal, in the heart of Siberia.
Among the largest lakes in the world,
Baikal is notable for its extraordinary supp
ly of fresh water, which is due to its great
depth. Nevertheless, Soviet economic
planners approved a plant, to be built on its
shores, that would process wood into in
sulation for automobile tires.
By 1967, when the plant was initiated, it
was already possible to produce the insula
tion from petrochemicals. Even so, the in
stallation went into operation, its waste
being dumped into the lake.
Komarow reports that some Russian spe
cialists raised objections at a session of the
Soviet Academy of Sciences, to which one
distinguished member replied:
“So what if we pollute? Now that we have
nuclear power, we can easily blast a big pit,
fill it with water and create another Lake
Baikal.”
According to Komarow, the Soviet au
thorities feel that they can neglect the eco
logical balance because they face virtually
no pressure from public opinion at home
and very little from scientists elsewhere in
the world. This is largely due to the fact that
the truth about Soviet environmental con
ditions is restricted to a handful of Russians
deemed “worthy of special confidence.”
In contrast to the competitive economies
of the West, moreover, the Soviet Union is
managed by a highly centralized bureauc
racy that concentrates primarily on prom
oting its own projects without regard for
the impact they may make on the environ
ment.
And, like Americans of a few years ago,
the Soviet leaders arc unconcerned about
the environment because their land is so
vast and its resources so great that they
believe its potentialities for development
to be limitless.
This sentiment, Komarow contends, has
led them to be indifferent toward ti;
vironment. He warns, however, tkl
Soviet rulers are deceiving themselves
as he puts it: “We may be sittingona
that is thicker than that of other coral
but that doesn’t necessarily meat
stronger, and it isn’t going to 1
forever. ”
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In Komarow’s view, the problemofl
Soviet environment is fundamental)p
tical, since the Kremlin leadership isi
going to alter its approach as longasj
committed to its present ideology.
The implication of this observalii
therefore, is that the problems of the So\
environment cannot be solved
Soviet system is revamped.
Thus, in Komarow, we have a newh
of Soviet dissident who is differentha
ethnic, literary, religious and otherdi
dents publicized in the Western d
Here, so to speak is an ecologicaldissih
The reason that he smuggled out
book, he makes clear, is to spread theta
ties of the Soviet environment to the
side world, presumably in the hopei
international opinion may compel!
Kremlin to change.
“If we want to survive we must low
truth, he concludes, “and we must it
inunicate it to others.’’
PL
FE
Cl
YC
AL
01
HI
Al
CA
LETTERS
Medical team needs
help, offers first aid
Editor:
Fellow Ags: Thursday evening, at 7:30
p.m. in 301 Rudder, the Texas A&M
Emergency Care Team (TAMECT) will
hold its first meeting of the spring semes
ter, TAMECT is a service organization that
provides first aid care for a wide variety of
Aggie functions. We work at rodeos,
marathons, intercollegiate football games
and other campus activities. We also man
the university-owned ambulance.
If you are interested in the field of
emergency medical services and are willing
to accept the responsibility of dealing with
the life and health of students and faculty
members, then you are invited to join this
THOTZ
dynamic organization. The activities, both
service and social, are rewarding and the
friendships numerous. If you have a cur
rent certification in some phase of
emergency care or would be willing to be
come certified, then we invite you to join
us.
If your club or organization has an up
coming event that may result in injury or
that will be attended by a large number of
people, TAMECT will provide emergency
medical services free of charge. To obtain
our services, just fill out the request form in
our cubicle in the Student Programs Office
about two weeks before the event. If you
have any questions concerning the Texas
A&M Emergency Care Team’s services or
membership, please feel free to call our
president, Stephanie Simpson, at 693-
1483.
Bruce W. Crooker
RA ’s copy FBI
Editor:
How much longer must the students of
Texas A&M be subjected to the senseless
“thoughts” of Mr. Doug Graham? I had
hoped that his graduation last month would
bring an end to our daily misery of reading
about Cheeseworth and the trash can mag
got! While I will admit that Mr. Graham is a
very talented and creative artist, I must
take exception to his cartoon of January 21.
Having been .a Resident Adviser fortl
years, I find Mr. Graham’s insinuatiOBfl
Resident Advisers resemble Gcslii
agents to be far from the truth. Quitetoi
contrary, we model ourselves afterF|
agents, continuously thwarting criitti
Aggieland and executing political eneml
of the University. The only thingwels|‘
in common with Gestapo agents is t
occasionally use German Lugers to f
down unruly dorm residents. Now till
have shown you the error of your ways,)!
Graham, I hope that you will nowr
doing what you do best — cutting downt j
food at Sbisa! Aufwiedersehen!
Bob Harper!
By Doug Grohq
’ r ii
TVIP