Investor's Business Daily, April 17, 2006

Environment: With Earth Day (April 22) still a week off, there's still time for alarmists to scare the pants off the public with stories of impending doom. But the truth is, the planet keeps getting cleaner.

Noxious emissions from carbon monoxide to sulfur dioxide are down, water quality continues to improve and toxic chemicals -- while still out there -- aren't doing the damage that their critics claim they are.

But don't look for this sort of information in the mainstream media. With few exceptions, they follow the line of environmentalists who are both emotionally and financially invested in a campaign against capitalism and modern living.

And this is their week, their time to sit back and listen as a sympathetic press reminds us how much greedy corporations, monster SUVs, greedy oil companies and even common household cleaners are wrecking our fragile environment.

But don't be fooled; be informed.

A valuable source of information is the latest "Index of Leading Environmental Indicators," which Stephen Hayward has been compiling since the early 1990's. Among the findings in the 2006 edition:

• Emissions of carbon monoxide fell by 14.8% in just the four years ended in 2004. Nitrogen oxides were down 15.7%, sulfur dioxide down 6.7% and volatile organic compounds down 11.2%. Only particulate matter, such as smoke, dust and other floating particles, which plunged 80% from 1970 to 2004, increased from 2000 to 2004, and then by only 8.7%. There was also a large decline -- a 98.6% drop -- in lead emissions between 2000 and 2004.
  
  One reason for the gains is that vehicles are burning cleaner than ever -- and that includes the class of cars that has been demonized by environmental groups. "The frequently heard claim that large SUVs "pollute more,' " writes Hayward, "is a myth."
  
  
• Acidity levels in water are down in every region, except New England, where they remained stable through the 1990's.
  
  
• Cancer rates continue their decline after peaking in the early '90 s. This is significant because cancer incidents are often blamed on toxic chemicals.
  
  
• Levels of chemicals found in the human body are also falling, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  
  
• Releases of toxic chemicals plunged 42% from 1998 to 2003, according to the EPA, even though more chemicals are being counted and more sources are being required to report.

The earth will never be spotless, but neither is it a stinking, smoldering, overflowing trash bin, as the green lobby would have us believe. Earth Day should be marked by celebrations of our progress, not the ominous tones of doom that usually dominate the coverage.

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