U.S. House of Representatives Moves to Accelerate Salvage Logging

[donsu]

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2006/2006-05-18-10.asp

The House passed legislation Wednesday that relaxes environmental laws in order to accelerate logging and replanting of public lands impacted by severe weather events, including wildfires, hurricanes and ice storms. Critics say the bill is unnecessary and undermines environmental protections in a bid to aid timber companies.

The bill passed by a bipartisan vote of 243-182, with 41 Democrats joining the Republican majority to approve the measure.

Current regulations allow salvage projects to become bogged down in red tape and litigation, supporters of the bill said, and these delays allow the damaged wood to decay and lose its commercial value.

“The wood is still good, but only for a finite time,” said Representative Brian Baird, a Washington Democrat, and cosponsor of the legislation. “Every day you delay, the value of the wood declines.”
-snip-
----------------------------------


gotta keep making money off those paper, use them once, throw away toilet cleaners, don't ya know. screw the enviornment.