04/07/05 Fueling Energy Bill; Draw down debate

One has to wonder just how high gas and fuel prices must reach before Congress will pass some sort of Energy Bill. With much of the nation now seeing prices on average of $2.20 for a single gallon of regular unleaded gasoline, and the price of a barrel of crude oil hitting a record $58 dollars a barrel Monday, the Chair of the House Energy and Commerce committee says the time is now to pass a measure. But even if Congress does so, Texas Representative Joe Barton says it may not be enough to prevent potential energy blackouts due to fuel shortages. Potential relief from high gas prices are not expected any time soon, even with word from O.P.E.C. nations Saudi Arabia and Kuwait that they will have increased oil production by this month. The debate over reservoir draw down from Columbia and Snake River dams to aid in fish recovery efforts is going to the courts again. And it comes in a year that the region is expecting one of its lowest water level years on record. A group of conservationalists, sports fishing interests, and others challenging the federal government's biological opinion on fish recovery on the Columbia-Snake system is asking federal Judge James Redden to require dam operators to use drawdown, flow augmentation, and other measures to boost flow levels above those prescribed by N.O.A.A. Fisheries. Now with today's "Food Forethought", here's Susan Allen. ALLEN: I read a letter recently to the editor in the High Country News, an environmental publication. Pat Ford from Save our Wild Salmon wrote in a response to a controversial article called "The Death of Environmentalism". Mr. Ford is obviously passionate about the state of the natural world and he was hoping that the article meant that the word, not the movement was dead. He has a point. While I care deeply about our natural resources I don't really want to be labeled an environmentalist. The word, as Mr. Ford aptly pointed out is harsh, with "iron and mental" lurking within it and leaves me with visions of hairy woman perched in the top of trees for days on end. I agree with Mr. Ford a better "label" for of us who care about nature is conservationist. Mr. Ford says, conservationist creates images of serving, and in his opinion and mine, is a more "human, open, humble and graceful" word. Problem is just a little too close to that nasty word "conservative" to ever take hold with environmental movement. "I'm Susan Allen and this is Food Forethought