Page 2 • The Battalion STATE & LOCAL Thursday • March 30 kurs Briefs Children, federal agencies pledge to prot© Election results announced Gulf of Mexico, marine life from pollutioi > -f n n c oc * The results of the 1995-96 Student Body Elections will be announced at 10 p.m. in front of the Academic Building. Voting continues today until 6 p.m. at the Sterling C. Evans Library, the Memorial Student Center, Zachry Engineering Center and the West Campus Gazebo for student body president, yell leaders, student senators, Residence Hall Association president and Off- Campus Aggies president. Seniors can also vote for their class gift and class agents. □ United States' Gulf of Mexico Symposium attempts to look at solutions to clean up water. Food fair to promote healthy eating habits Those interested in learning more about healthy eating habits can sample an array of healthy food items today from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. in 201 MSC. The Healthy Choice Food Fair is sponsored by the Department of Food Services, the A.P. Beutel Health Center and Health Promotion. A cover charge of $2 provides a sampling of breakfast items, salads, hot entrees and desserts. CORPUS CHRISTI (AP) — Pollution in the Gulf of Mexico comes from hundreds of sources and creates a sobering array of problems that cross internation al boundaries. But for 10 children who signed a resolution Wednesday to protect the Gulf, the issue boils down to a simple principle: Pay attention. “I hope a lot of people think about what has happened here to day so that we can keep the Gulf of Mexico strong,” said 13-year- old Carlie Goble of Houston. Goble was among the children — five from Mexico, five from the United States — who signed the resolution kicking off the Gulf of Mexico Symposium during a cere mony aboard the retired aircraft carrier USS Lexington. The symposium comes at a time of dwindling sympathy in the U.S. Congress for new envi ronmental regulations and dwindling government cash in Mexico, which is in a deep eco nomic crisis. “If this is viewed as a crisis, it’s also an opportunity,” said Douglas A. Lipka, acting director of the Gulf of Mexico Program, which organized the event. “And I think it will give us more in centive to be looking at joint ap proaches to issues or problems.” Population growth along the Gulf Coast is expected to more than double between 1960 and 2010, meaning more pollution and less habitat for marine life. Threats range from oil spills to pesticide runoff, from loss of wetlands to raw sewage dumping, from speedboats that hit endangered sea turtles to litterbugs who dump plastic containers into rivers that flow into the Gulf. During the ceremony, repre sentatives of 19 U.S. government agencies signed an agreement to share information and coordi nate efforts to protect the Gulf. The Gulf of Mexico Program was created by the U.S. Environ mental Protection Agency in 1988 to devise a plan and coordi nate federal efforts to protect the Gulf. The program conducts a symposium every two years. “It’s a chance to bring togeth er scientists, students, teachers and federal agencies to provide a progress report on how we are meeting the challenges of the Gulf of Mexico,” said Diane Alts- man, a conference organizer. The Gulf is home to four of the nation’s busiest ports and provides nearly half of the U.S. commercial catch of finfish, shrimp and shellfish. Its shores provide crucial habitat for 75 percent of migratory North American waterfowl. It is equally vital to Mexico, said Maria Eugenia Lezcano, deputy director for environmen tal affairs in the Mexican Secre tariat of the Environment, Nat ural Resources and Fisheries. “Even though our country is going through a very difficult economic situation at the mo ment, we still consider it a prior ity to protect our environment,” Lezcano said. Conference participants will meet through Saturday for ses sions on habitat degradation, floating debris, toxic substances, coastal erosion, freshwater in flow quality, aquatic life, nutri ent enrichment from sewa3 fertilizers, and human] concerns such as consumptiJ contaminated seafood. Lipka said one of thefaJ growing problems alongtk Gulf Coast is the lossofi lands and shallowest^ which provide nurseriesfc>J and shellfish and feeding!) for waterfowl. “Ninety-eight percent^ fisheries, we estimate,! pendent on the estuaries! said. “We really don't! full understanding ofij amount of wetlands willj the fisheries.” Texas Land Commisl. Garry Mauro called the( “forgotten border” betwei United States and Mexico,! “We have got to havej actions if we’re going toj tain the productivity oftlie| of Mexico,” Mauro said. The proceeds will provide a scholarship for a student in the Department of Nutrition. House OKs watered down food libel bill Texas House gives tentative approval to alternative fuel bill AUSTIN (AP) — Peas didn’t go flying through the air, but there was definitely a food fight in the Texas House on Wednesday. The bone of contention was a bill that opponents said would make it illegal to “say bad words against vegetables.” The measure by Rep. Bob Turner, D-Voss, would allow agriculture producers to sue individuals who make disparaging statements regarding the safety of food products. The House tentatively approved the bill, but only after an amendment was added that opponents said gutted the measure. The amendment deleted a provision requiring the person who makes a disparaging statement to prove that it is based on scientific data and instead requires the person suing to prove the statement is false. □ Measure gains praise from environmentalists. AUSTIN (AP) — The House on Wednesday gave tentative approval to a bill that environmental activists contend would undermine a state program re quiring the use of alternative fuels to help reduce pollution. The measure, approved with a voice vote, was passed in the Senate earlier this month. It faces final House approval before it can go to Gov. George W. Bush for consideration. At issue is the Texas Alternative Fu els Program, which requires certain state agencies, local mass transit au thorities and school districts to convert specified percentages of their fleet vehi cles to run on natural gas or other ap proved alternative fuels. The program includes time periods by which the entities must convert their fleets. The plan affects about 100 school dis tricts, state agencies with more than 15 vehicles and the cities of Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, El Paso, Fort Worth, Corpus Christi, Laredo and Port Arthur. The bill by Rep. Mark Stiles, D-Beau- mont, would expand the list of approved alternative fuels to include reformulated gas and low-sulphur diesel. It also would extend the time periods for compliance. Stiles said the measure would provide greater flexibility to the entities in volved in the program while saving them money. But opponents of the bill said refor mulated gas and diesel fuels do not go as far in helping reduce pollution as natur al gas and other alternative fuels. “The idea of having diesel on a list of alternative fuels is patently absurd,” said Ken Kramer, state director of the Sierra Club. “Diesel is certainly not a cleaner-burning fuel.” Motorcycle helmet repeal likely dead, sponsor says Q State senator unable to gain enough votes for review. AUSTIN (AP) — A proposal to repeal the mandatory helmet law for adult mo torcyclists crashed in the Texas Senate Wednesday, and its sponsor says the is sue likely is dead for the session. As a crowd of bikers, many wearing black leather and boots, watched from the Senate spectators’ gallery. Sen. Jerry Patterson failed to win enough Senate support to allow the bill to be taken up for a vote. Procedural rules require at least two- thirds of the senators to agree to consid er a bill. The vote on taking up Patter son’s measure was 18-12, two short of the 20 needed. “I think it’s probably a better than 50 N' V percent chance the bill is dead/ Paa son, R-Pasadena. “I think truly wera ing to have to look at this in thekl and try to do it next ... session.” Sputnik Strain, a biker whci worked to repeal the helmet law, be was disappointed at the vote andblo sentiment against the measure onai against motorcyclists. “They are prejudiced agaic?! lifestyle they know absolutely m about,” said Strain, who is from Fe, Texas, near Galveston. funde “This is not to us about a helmet® Ai This is about the freedom of citel eight the state of Texas, which is suppose:!Eigh be a free republic, to make decisiocir M themselves,” Strain said. ] of coi Patterson said some people are p' who diced against motorcyclists becaf the s went Oast-i ai Fi: ; neap cited “They look different.” CONTACT LENSES ONLY QUALITY NAME BRANDS (Bausch & Lomb, Ciba, Barnes-Hind-Hydrocurve) Disposable Contact Lenses Available $ 118°o TOTAL COST.. .INCLUDES $ EYE EXAM, FREE ALCON OPTI-FREE CARE KIT, AND TWO PAIR OF STANDARD FLEXIBLE WEAR SOFT CONTACT LENSES. 149 00 TOTAL COST...includes EYE EXAM, FREE ALCON OPTI-FREE CARE KIT, AND FOUR PAIR OF STANDARD FLEXIBLE WEAR SOFT CONTACT' LENSES. 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