SamSaid!

POLLUTION

     Since I regularly read a variety of well known publications, I do not lack the opportunity to see the world through left wing eyes. But to keep matters in balance I also subscribe to the National Review, the voice of conservative America.which was founded and supported by William Buckley whom I regard as a truly superior intellect. He is well informed, highly articulate, and thought provoking. However, there are other excellent writers on the magazine staff as well. The other day, I ran across an article that gave me a new slant on environmentalism and pollution.

     Up until the arrival of the automobile  in the early 1900s, the two main forms of transportation in the country were the railroads and the horse. Few would argue that the horse was not directly involved in the growth of the US. By 1900, there were an estimated 20.4 million horses in this country, millions of which were in the cities and towns. The average horse consumed about 39 pounds of food per day  –  5 tons per year. In turn, that resulted in 12,000 pouns of manure and 400 gallons of urine per horse per year. And there were millions of acres specifically devoted to growing the food for the horses. Naturally, much of the excrement from the horses found its way into the lakes, ponds, rivers and streams of the country  –  polluting them badly. Disposing of horse piles was a major problem in big cities. Then along came the automobile which literally put the horses out to pasture (no pun intended). Now they can muck-up a pasture or man made pond, but for the most part, horse-generated pollution is gone  –  thanks to the automobile.

     To many of the “green” mentality, the automobile is regularly castigated as a polluter  –  not granting due credit for eliminating horse generated pollution many many years ago. I am sure they would gag before conceding that automobiles have reduced pollution and benefited the environment. Of course, all of this data is verifiable, so readers can confidently view the preceding as scientific observations rather than so much horse manure. But for environmental skeptics, I'd just offer that as the fly said as he crawled across the mirror, “that's one way of looking at it”.