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THE CAVALIER DAILY
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Moratorium On Pollution Scheduled

By Richard Hickman

A nationwide moratorium is being
planned for the of 1970 by
conservation groups, members of the
Vietnam Moratorium Committee, and at
least one U.S. Senator to protest the
inadequacy of the funds and laws
adopted for the control of pollution.
Planned for April 22, 1970, the moratorium's
organizers hope that high schools
and colleges across the country will
suspend classes for one day and devote
that time to studying the threat of
pollution to American rivers, air and land.

Hoping to generate University interest
in environmental problems, the Virginia
Ecology Action Committee, chaired by

Thurman Wenzl, sponsored a panel
discussion last Wednesday with two
distinguished ecologists. Joseph Cragwall,
from the Water Resources Division of the
U.S. Geographical Survey, and Eugene
Wallen, representing the Office of Oceanography
of the Smithsonian Institute,
spoke for twenty minutes each on the
general topic of water pollution and
conservation.

Introducing the two speakers, Mr.
Wenzl explained that the new Ecology
Action Committee of the Radical Student
Union was not the first effort on the
Grounds in the area of conservation. In
the Law School, seminars on air pollution
standards have dealt with the bureaucratic
reasons for the dismal lack of enforcement.
The Outing Club has been involved
in statewide efforts for the preservation
of wilderness areas from the encroachment
of highways and industry.

Mr. Cragwall, devoting most of his
prepared remarks to statistics describing
the crisis in our ecological system, began
by noting that the population of the
United States will have doubled by the
year 2020. This, he pointed out, is the
basic cause of environmental pollution,
which is directly proportional to population
growth.

Speaking mainly on the issue of water
pollution, his specialty, Mr. Cragwall
described the earth's water supply as
constant. The earth receives approximately
4200 billion gallons of water each day
in the form of precipitation, although 70
per cent of this total is evaporated by
Nature. Geographical and seasonal variations
cause this figure to fluctuate widely;
for example, in the United States, there is
a tremendous difference in rainfall
between the Columbia River Basin and
the Lower Colorado River Basin.

At the present time, 26 per cent of
our underground water supply is being
tapped for the needs of human society.
By the end of this century, two-thirds of
this supply will be in use, and the figure
will reach 100 per cent before the year
2020. It is for this reason that men must
pay closer attention to the recycling of
water. The more water that is withdrawn
from primary underground sources, the
more pollution there is bound to be. That
is, unless man can stop the despoiling of
his natural environment, through massive
treatment programs.

According to a 1968 study of stream
standards, an initial expenditure of $8
billion over a five year period is
absolutely necessary to restore our rivers
and streams to reasonable standards of
cleanliness. This amount, which would be
borne by municipal governments for local
treatment facilities, would be in addition
to another $8 billion investment by
private industry, plus $10 billion for
storm sewers and other control measures,
with perhaps $3 billion for thermal
pollution. In other words, expenditures in
the neighborhood of $25-30 billion, are
going to be required to begin to save
America's rivers and streams.

Considering that Congress has only
authorized Federal expenditures of $1
billion this year for Municipal Waste
Treatment Plants, this seems to be a
staggering expense. And yet, in comparing
the economic alternatives, it will be
far less expensive over the coming years
to meet these problems now and find the
solutions before our environment is
actually destroyed.

Wt is desperately needed at this
time is a national policy on the
environment, and a clear commitment to
implement that policy. The Clean Water
Restoration Act of 1966 demonstrated a
willingness on the part of Congress to
begin to establish goals for these issues,
and a significant portion of the public
seems to be aware of the importance of
the problem.

It is pertinent to raise the question:
Will the money be appropriated? Will we
commit ourselves to undertake the basic
scientific research which is necessary to
develop the technology for ending pollution?
Can this country reorder its
priorities of the past centuries and place
the public interest in a healthy environment
first on the list of national goals?

Mr. Wallen, who has done extensive
research on water pollution for the
Atomic Energy Commission and the
Smithsonian Institute, is a member of
Richard Nixon's recently appointed Presidential
Task Force on Ecology. It is
expected that the President will speak to
this issue in his January State of the
Union Address, and will direct his
remarks particularly to young people and
students.

The Virginia Ecology Action Committee
is already making plans for the
teach-in next spring. With a large turnout
at their first meeting, several subcommittees
are being formed to study various
ecological issues, including the transportation
crisis, air and water pollution, and
conservation of wilderness areas.

As this movement gains strength on
the national level, the leaders of the
Ecology Action Committee at the University
hope that strong support will be
forthcoming from the students here.