4 one and should protect the land and water and air from man's careless action, it surely is Antarctica. Today there is, of course, person who can really bring these problems to the public's attention with special insight and, of course, that's you, Will, that's you and your comrades. Of course, it is getting more acceptable these days to use the word "comrade", as you noted in your comments to our Congressman Oberstar. I think that your cooperation with your comrades is a wonderful example and we hope that that will be multiplied many times in light of the new developments in the world. When you return, I and others certainly would like to invite you to return to Washington to share your insights with us, and we would like, of course, to get your views on the international treaty on mining in Antarctica. The treaty will certainly affect the future of Antarctica and our efforts to protect it. All of us that can't--and shouldn't--visit the great continent of Antarctica (even well intentioned visits for the sake of curiosity risk harm to that pristine area.), we, of course, are busy working on clean air this session. We want to eliminate the toxics and pollutions and the chloroflourocarbons, the CFCs that affect remote areas like Antarctica. Congress is going to write a strong Clean Air Act this year. Your help there might be key as well as to something really on our agenda. Will, we're looking forward to your first-hand experiences 5 back here in a warm Washington. So, we want you to mush those noble dogs, and mush the explorers way down under. We wish you a happy Ground Hog's Day, Valentine's Day and President's Day as we don't know when this will arrive, but we look forward to seeing you back in Minnesota and back in Washington. Good luck! REP. OBERSTAR: Thank you, Bruce. You reminded me of an experience a visitor had to a wilderness area many years ago. On arriving at the entrance to that wilderness, he was greeted by a sign that said, "Help us save the wilderness. Leave this place!" That's the message I think, that needs to go forth about Antarctica: "Don't come visiting with drill rigs and exploratory devices and measure the volumetric presence of irreparable damage to that explosives that can hydrocarbons. You may do more environment than any other presence of man." Yours is a contributory presence. You've galvanized the attention of the nation to your exploit across the continent and you've galvanized attention here in Congress to the needs of preservation in Antarctica. I just wanted you to know that we are listening. Your words have not gone, as they do in space, into a dark beyond, but they have fallen on some very receptive ears. Last night at a town forum in Duluth on the budget, its priorities and the environment, some 200 people listened to your message and applauded it at the end, and urged the Congress to support the position you advocated, which is the point of the resolution, H.J. 6 Res. 418, which I hope we can get passed here in the House and in the Senate. Thank you for the inspiration. We look forward to your early and safe return, and probably Bruce Vento can arrange a committee hearing to have you tell the Congress and the country about your exploits, and I know you'll have a lot of support in that regard. To all of you on the expedition, comrades all, crusaders for the environment, from us here in Washington and in the Congress, good luck! Thanks for your message. ### IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION'S STRATEGY FOR COMPLIANCE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN ANTARCTICA Division of Polar Programs November 16, 1989 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION'S STRATEGY FOR COMPLIANCE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN ANTARCTICA INTRODUCTIIO, In June 1989, the Director of the Division of Polar Programs (DPP) established a Task Force to align actions stated in DPP's Agenda with actions recommended in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Office of the General Counsel's (OCC) review of environmental law and policy in Antarc tica; and, to lay out a detailed plan of action and milestones (POA&M) to accomplish the actions. In preparing this document, the Task Force considered DPP's Environmental Protection Agenda action items and OGC's recommendations as required undertakings for the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP). As presented in the OGC analysis (see Attachment I to this document), recommended actions were described by reference to types of pollution control. In order to implement these recommendations, they were categorized in a matrix by the Task Force as either Management Actions (requiring policy formulation or decisionmaking) or Operational Actions (requiring a more direct, hands-on strategy). Within each category the recommended actions were then assigned a level of priority based upon accomplishment of subsequent actions (Attachment II). Each recommended action was reviewed to disclose its relevant policy foundations; appropri-ate courses of performance were identified; and finally, estimated levels of effort and funding required to accomplish the action were agreed upon, where possible. The availability of human (internal and external to DPP) and financial resources to accomplish the recommended actions will, of course, be dependant upon existing resources and pending appropriation requests. Estimated costs earmarked for the actions in this report would derive from the NSF's major, multi-year Safety, Environment, and Health Initiative. The Congress has sent a bill to the President to launch this effort. In Fiscal Year (FY) 1990, this Initiative earmarks $10 million to start the undertaking. Over half of this initial increment is for environmental activities, with the balance earmarked for safety and health-related improvements. The total package is expected to approach $100 million over five years, exclusive of aircraft acquisition. Of this amount, over $30 million is reserved for improvement of environmental protection and management. The activities detailed in this document, and their attendant resource requirements, are summarized in its Attachments. |