The Opinion Pages

Today is the 38th anniversary of the first Earth Day, a media event created in the United States with the sponsorship of a senator, Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin. In other countries around the world, Earth Days coincide with the vernal equinox, around March 20, but in this country it’s been April 22 since it started. (The DAR once spread the scurrilous rumor that the date was chosen because April 22, 1969, was the centennial of Lenin’s birth.) -more-

House Democrats’ decision to delay consideration of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement until the next administration represents a move to protect the rights of the Colombian indigenous communities and U.S. national security interests. The decision comes after President Bush sent the controversial trade agreement to the House, which under presidential “fast track authority” requires an up or down legislative vote after ninety days. “Free trade” has most recently been a thorny topic, especially among Democrats, with Hillary Rodham Clinton’s recent dismissal of a top advisor, Mark Penn, for his work on the Colombia deal. Although the White House claims that the trade pact will “enhance national security” by “strengthening a key democratic ally” in the region and “bring economic gains to both sides,” the reality of the situation is quite another matter. -more-