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State Debate: Let's talk about binge drinking

An 8/25 roundup of editorials in state papers

Compiled by Judie Kleinmaier  —  8/25/2008 9:39 am

Open the discussion on binge drinking, says the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

It's too simplistic to dismiss out of hand a call by about 100 college presidents to examine the practicality of the 21-year-old drinking age. It's also too simplistic to embrace dropping the age to 18, and that's not what the so-called Amethyst Initiative is about.

David Joyce, the president of Ripon College and so far the only Wisconsin college leader to sign the initiative, says the group has three goals -- an "informed and dispassionate public debate" about the effects of the 21-year-old drinking age, consideration whether the federal government's highway fund "incentive" helps or hinders the debate, and discussion of "new ideas about the best ways to prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol."

If we're going to break the circle of alcohol abuse, we're not sure changing the drinking age is productive. And lowering it to 18 would increase the availability of alcohol to high school students.

But "Might there be a better solution?" is a question worth asking.

Now you'll know where your food comes from, notes the Eau Claire Leader Telegram.

As of Sept. 30 -- at long last -- a federal rule requiring country of origin labeling (COOL) goes into effect for meat, fruit, vegetables, nuts and ginseng. The measure was part of the 2008 farm bill.

While important, the COOL rule doesn't go far enough. It applies only to foods that haven't been processed. For example, packages of frozen peas or carrots must carry labels, but not packages of frozen peas mixed with carrots. Likewise, while you'll be able to tell if a raw pork chop came from the U.S., the same information won't be required of a smoked ham.

Nonetheless, labeling our foods' national origins is good policy. We hope this COOL trend spreads to the rest of what we eat in the near future.

Madison's politics of attack also hurts campuses around the state, says the La Crosse Tribune.

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse ranked No. 2 on U.S. News & World Report's list of the best colleges in the Midwest.

We mention that because of the fight that's going on in Madison between outgoing UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, and some legislators. In the September issue of Madison magazine, Wiley criticized WMC, the state's biggest business interest group, as being more interested in right-wing politics than economic development.

UW-Madison bears the brunt of the legislative attacks, but the partisan jabbing affects campuses throughout the state. So this is just a little reminder that there are other public university campuses in the state, and they are being hurt by the politics of attack in Madison.

Don't weaken Endangered Species Act, says the Sheboygan Press.

It's never a good idea to have the fox watching the henhouse.

Likewise, it's not a good idea to have the same agencies planning a project also decide what impact the work might have on endangered species. But that's just what the Bush administration is planning to leave as a legacy to threatened plants and animals.

Administration officials are proposing changes to the Endangered Species Act to remove the requirement that there be an independent look at the impact of federal projects, including building of dams and roads or mining, logging and oil drilling.

The rule, which the administration calls a "narrow regulatory change," destroys the value of the Endangered Species Act, which was passed in 1986.

We urge people who support the Endangered Species Act to contact their lawmakers and tell them to stop the gutting of the act.

Remember, it was the Endangered Species Act that helped rescue the bald eagle -- the very symbol of America -- from extinction.

Compiled by Judie Kleinmaier  —  8/25/2008 9:39 am