European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 30, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes columns Eileen Putman everybody offering advice to president elect Washington president elect George Bush is rising advice from aides and former presidents and from ill Ink tanks and lobbyists in reports that stretch from 50 to 1,000 pages with coven that Range from no nonsense Navy to Peppermint striped. Much of the advice is unsolicited and much goes unheeded and unread no matter How flashy the cover or How hard the pitch. We Chur they get a hearing depends entirely on their political  said Stephen Hess a senior Fel Low at the Brookings institution. If they re read at All they will be read by pretty Low level transition  Many of the reports arc done for other reasons than influencing the president elect like getting news Media publicity he Kays. Advising an incoming administration has become a cottage Industry in part due to the Success of the conservative heritage foundation s 1980 mandate for leadership which was a blueprint for much of the Agenda of president Reagan s first term. The transition is a seminal period in a presidency said Stuart a Eizenstat who was a lop Domestic policy aide to president  legislative priorities the budget you develop have a great Deal to say about the first year and indeed your entire term. People have begun o realize that he said. Here s a sampling of the dozens of books magazines pamphlets reports letters panel discussions and briefings. The government s general accounting office an investigative Arm of Congress published 26 separate unsolicited reports on issues facing the new administration ranging from defense to banking to transportation i he lint Lime it a done so. The reports Are bound in Navy Blue. The heritage foundation has published a 933 Page mandate for leadership til which updates its past policy prescriptions. Heritage advised Bush among other things to give his vice president Dan Quayle a key role in dealing with Congress not to joke on television with congressional adversaries and give Short Businesslike slate of the Union speeches. The foundation also supplied the resumes of More than 10,000 conservatives it would like in the new administration. The Center for strategic and International stud ies a moderate think tank packaged its 50 pages of Tom Wicker a advice on the transition process in Bright red with a White Stripe across the Corner. The document has been dubbed the Peppermint  former presidents Carter and Ford offered recommendations on ways to reduce the Federal deficit by cutting spending and raising taxes on Beer wine cigarettes and motor fuel. Bush said said last week he was open minded in terms of hearing from All these people but would follow his own counsel. We re always willing to take advice from others As Long As they understand there s no guarantee the presi Dent elect will accept it said David Prosper a Bush spokesman. Some groups try the hard sell. We cover All the bases. Every Lime a name is mentioned in the Media As a potential candidate we make certain a copy is Given to that individual that Day said Curtis Farmer of the Center for strategic and International studies. The Center delivered copies to Bush and Democrat Michael Dukakis two weeks before the election. Farmer said that because no one on the transition team has much Tine for Reading Sis scholar decided to keep their report to fewer than 50 pages with no Section taking More than 10 minutes to read. I think we approached this in a very cagey Man Ner he said. A Burton Pines senior vice president at heritage said that policy suggestions often sell themselves to harried policy makers who Are always looking Tor an efficient Way of gelling data and  we have Over 1,000 recommendations. That is a gift to any policy maker Pines said. Hell come into the office cold. He s got to hit the ground running. Hell open our chapter on his department and it la be Laid out almost  it s vital that Bush address environmental issues in Brazil s great undeveloped am Azon Basin the National government spent $600 million in lax credits to subsidize the development Between 1965 and 1983 of 469 cattle ranches aver aging 23,000 hectares each about 57,500 acres at first the land reclaimed from Tropi Cal rain Forest supported one animal per hectare. But neither the ranchers nor the government invested in Weed control or soil Fertility so that within five years the stocking rate fell to one animal on four acc Lars -j1 " with lax incentives available for Clear ing the land but not for maintaining its productivity the ranchers soon abandoned their holdings As the soil wore out they moved on to Clear the Forest for other subsidized ranch developments / the Cost was far More than $ 600 million of which the brazilian govern ment recovered Only a fraction. Indis Criminate depletion of forests meant the loss of watershed Protection and species habitat As Well As potentially valuable Forest products and it vastly increased net emissions into the Atmo sphere of Carbon dioxide a major contributor to the so called greenhouse effect that Healing up the Earth s Cli mate. Thus Brazil s development efforts not Only worsened thai nation s economic plight and hindered its ability to repay its huge International debt both matters of concern to the developed world they also endangered the Environ ment of other nations including the United states. For Many such reasons some de tailed in earlier columns global environmental problems Are a major perhaps the major threat to . Security and to the Security of Man kind.  yet amid All the talk of president elect George Bush s staff and Cabinet choices and his budget policies scarcely a word has been heard about the Ozone layer acid rain deforestation soil depletion population control and other disasters happening or Wail ing to happen. The world s resources now support 5 billion to 6 billion people. The United nations projects however that world population will exceed 8 billion by 202s, that Means. Rising demand for food firewood and Limber hence More deforestation soil depletion and erosion. More and More land will become de Sert and the atmosphere less Breatha ble millions will move to Unm Anage ably crowded Urban areas poverty and starvation will inexorably stalk their miserable streets. On this vital matter Bush s Campaign positions Are not encouraging but the growth of the world s Popula Tion is a crisis he cannot responsibly evade every two seconds five people Are added to it. -. Everywhere he looks if he bothers to see he will find such questions in truding upon even overriding the usual concerns of government. In Central America for example 38 percent of Forest Coyer has been lost since 19jo,. With far More tre still being Cul than replanted. An ecological deterioration of that magnitude works against societal stability and can t be remedied by any amount of Aid to the contras in nyc. Arangua. -. International environmental problems deserve to be among the Bush administration s highest Priori ties for at least three hardly disputable. Reasons. First Ozone depletion acid rain Ocean pollution and the like Are Clear and present threats to All nations respecting to National boundaries. Second these problems demand International cooperation and Promise the kind of joint International efforts that can promote understanding and peace among nations. Finally a better life for the millions in the undeveloped world is in the interests of . Security and obviously is a target Tor professed . Ideal ism.  global problems requiring global solutions will have to be addressed at the presidential and Cabinet level the appointment of James Baker As Secretary of slate could be crucial. As Treasury Secretary he sometimes mitigated the International Banks tendencies to support environmentally destructive third world projects such As amazonian cattle ranches. If he will he can use his new role to save natural resources a be once worked to lower the value of the Dollar. But Only George Bush can set the necessary Overall policy that All International relations including Trade debt payment and development assist Ance be conducted in explicit recognition of environmental issues and at lured to their Resolution if the planet s Rush m self destruction is to be slowed in time Bush May be the last president to have that Opportunity