Zachary Bookman

(ATTN: Editorial Page editors)

From the Kansas City Star, Monday, April 21:

Politicians love to pander to American motorists, often by promising to drive down the cost of gasoline. The latest example is John McCain's bid to promote a gasoline tax holiday over the summer.

On the Web

Lester Brown and Jonathan Lewis

By Judith Miller

Ed Begley Jr.

I have been a quote-unquote environmentalist for 38 years, and I couldn't be happier about the green bandwagon that's rolling through Hollywood and the rest of the country these days. It hasn't always been so easy being green. Back in the 1990s, when environmentalism was looked upon as a holdover from the days of hippies and the Whole Earth Catalog, my lifestyle was considered so strange and extreme that I suspect it may even have cost me acting work. But now, like miniskirts and skinny neckties, "green" is back in style -- and I'm convinced that it's not just a fad, but a fundamental shift in our culture.

From the Miami Herald on Friday, April 18, 2008:

Given the current global food crisis, decisions by the United States, Europe and other countries to convert corn and other food crops into fuel are beginning to look like good intentions gone awry. The biofuels push is beginning to have harmful unintended consequences, contributing to shortages of basic foods in Haiti, Egypt, Italy and countries in Africa and Southeastern Asia. The European Union is reconsidering its goal of using biofuels in 10 percent of its transportation fuels -- and the U.S. Congress should do the same.