European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 20, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 a the stars and stripes Friday september 20, 1991unheeded new York apr for six hours technicians tailed to react to alarms warning of trouble that led to a Telephone failure and air traffic control disruption that delayed hundreds of flights nationwide at amp to said wednesday. At amp to blamed a Power disruption at a phone switching Center in Manhattan for the problem which virtually closed three Large airports for several hours tuesday night. Consolidated Edison the local electric Utility asked at amp to to use internally generated Power at the station because tuesdays 93-degree heat created heavy Energy demand. Devices that Are supposed to change the stations Power from a to do failed and the station began operating on Battery Power a setting off audio and visual alarms said Joseph Nacchio an at amp to vice president. The alarms went Oft for six hours. At least two technicians and a supervisor apparently did not respond or did not respond properly Nacchio said. Bush praises plan to Clear air in Canyon by the los Angeles times grand Canyon Ariz. A president Bush sought to stake his claim on a powerful Domestic Issue wednesday As he hailed a historic agreement to Cut air pollution in this Scenic National landmark. In his first Stop on a Campaign style three Day trip through the West Bush described the government brokered Accord Between business and environmentalists As an example of a a common sense approach a that he said should be a Model for tackling other problems. A if we Divide up like the hat Fields and the Mccoss we done to solve anything worthwhile a he added. But critics questioned whether Bush had been a full supporter of the widely acclaimed plan. A the Bush record on the environment is a fraud a charged sen. Al gored Tenn. A the Gap Between his rhetoric and his record is deeper and wider than the grand Canyon  Bush was eager to counter such attacks. A i just have to ask some of the critics out there a How a this for the vision thing Quot the agreement made Public last month requires the Navajo generating station in nearby Page Ariz., to reduce Sulur dioxide emissions by 90 percent before the end of the decade in an attempt to Pul an end to the conditions that can leave this Canyon blanketed in Haze. 1 he Deal was praised wednesday by a wide Range of interest groups. But officials of some environmental organizations pointed out that the Bush while House earlier this year called Tor Only a 70 percent reduction. Officials travelling with Bush said the White House now supported the More stringent controls because talks Between Industry and environmental groups had found a Way to make the deeper cuts less costly. I ten p,.�" is Low cd pc Edlo impose additional costs of ii>9 million a year on the Coal burning Power Plant. The pollution controls initially were to have taken effect in 1995, but under the Compromise will not begin until 1997. Administration predictions say the cutbacks ii anyone heard them and whether anyone responded to them that s what we re investigating a he said. Circuits that carry flight data Between Airport computers did t work and controllers were forced to describe the flight plans by Telephone which took much longer said Federal aviation administration spokesman Duncan Carduc. Critics asked Why there was no backup in place for the air traffic control system. At amp to said a backup under construction would be ready within a month. A a single Point failure should not be capable of bringing Down the majority of the Faa s communication capabilities a said John Mazor a spokesman for the air line pilots association. More than 200 flights were disrupted at John f. Kennedy and Laguardia airports in new York and at Newark International Airport in new Jersey. The Power failure also Cut off half of american Telephone amp Telegraph  Long distance Telephone traffic into and out of new York City. President Bush uses the grand Canyon As the backdrop for promoting his environmental policy. Should improve visibility at the grand Canyon Only by 7 percent on the average Winter Day causing some within the environmental Community to contend that the plan does not go far enough. An official conceded that the emission cuts were unlikely to have much effect on visibility Here during summer months when Westerly winds mean that smog from los Angeles is the principal cause of the Northern Arizona Haze. The trouble began when at amp to switched to internal Power at the switching station which directs phone traffic from the local Telephone company to at amp to a Long distance network. Power rectifiers devices that Are supposed to chanae at amp to a Power from a to do failed the company said in a statement. Instead at amp to went onto backup Battery Power which ran out after six hours. Technicians should have responded to alarms and the supervisor should have ordered an inspection Nacchio said. When at amp to tried to shift Back to commercial Power engineers discovered the Power rectifiers weren to working the company said. If a Telephone circuit fails Faa computers Are supposed to switch data to another route. But tuesday s failure made rerouting impossible said Faa spokesman Fred Farrar. Faa officials planned to meet with at amp to to discuss ways to prevent a recurrence. Farrar said. . Adopts rules Banning Drift nets Washington apr seafood exporters who traditionally use Drift nets will have to certify that products shipped to the United states were not caught with the so called a curtains of  the Bush administration on wednesday adopted regulations effective july 1, 1992, Banning . Imports of fish or fish products that were caught with the nets which trap and kill anything in their path. Until then fish caught with Drift nets outside the South Pacific Ocean still will be allowed to be imported into the United states. But after the deadline fish harvested with Drift nets anywhere on the International High seas will not be allowed for Sale in the United states the National oceanic and atmospheric administration said in a statement. Drift netting nations that Export seafood to the United states will be required to provide documents certifying that the products were not taken with Drift nets Noaa said. Under the new regulations France will be added to Japan Taiwan North and South Korea As Drift netting nations. The rules also define Drift nets As any floating Gill net with a length exceeding 2.5 Kilometres a about 1.5 Miles. Some Drift nets stretch As Long As 30 Miles indiscriminately killing All Marine life in their path. A Marine fisheries service reported that >n�?~99�, just 10 percent of Japan s Drift net Fleet killed l. Win is and Dihins it 253,288 tuna 81,956 Blue Sharks 30,464 sea Birds and More than 3 million other non target fish including some Salmon tagged from hatcheries in the Columbia River Basin. Taiwan under threat of . Trade sanctions announced last month it will end the use of Drift nets in International Waters effective next july i. Sen. Bob Packwood r-ore., has introduced legislation that would eventually require Trade sanctions against All countries that continue to use Drift nets i United nations Resolution calling for an end to Drift nets worldwide takes effect next june 30, but critics say it includes too Many loopholes that will allow their continued use. Noaa a part of the Commerce department was required to adopt the new regulations under legislation president Bush signed into Law last year. Juan Aig Niu Usu Law Jas year scientists fear amphibian decline tied to global woes Rensselaer Vii. E by apr _ w Wui Rensselaerville n y. A Richard Wyman can Tell a lot about a Forest by lifting logs and seeing what wriggles. Lately he does t like what he sees. Wyman is a herpetologists. He studies amphibians red backed salamanders in particular. These Days things Are amiss in the herpetological world. It All started in november 1989, at the first world Congress of herpetology in Canterbury England. There and at follow up sessions last year in Irvine calif., and new Orleans scientists from around the Globe confirmed what Many had suspected since the 1970s. Frogs toads and salamanders Are in trouble. Though the exact causes Are not Clear scientists say the demise May Bode ill Lor almost All life on Earth. A there Are lots of reasons to look to amphibians As canaries in the global Coal mine said George Rabb president of the species survival commission of the International Union for the conservation of nature. Northeast were uncommon declining rare or threatened. The declines weren t As dramatic As those found among some Western frogs however. At the workshop in Irvine scientists agreed that some of _ some of the worlds 5,130 species of amphibians Are in trouble. Some causes of amphibian death Are amphibians provide Early warning of readily explained. Kill Phoniel i 111 h  if 1 Highway carnage is common in Breeding season. Wyman studied one place where thousands of frogs and Salaman dts would Cross Roud on the two nights after the first Spring rain. Predators like raccoons Are another problem. People eat millions of frogs too. Pesticides herbicides logging and habitat destruction Are also listed i p he Letl i 4 Subtle changes m the environment Rabb said. A because of the nature of amphibians a their Bip Hasic life history on water and land plus their permeable skin a they Are vulnerable in ways that Many other animals Are  from a Survey of herpetologists Wyman determined that 20 out of 30 species of salamanders and frogs in the As causes of amphibian death. But for Many declining species the cause of their distress is a mystery. Those Are the most worrisome cases because they May portend worldwide damage to the environment. One theory is that destruction of the Ozone layer May be causing an increase in ultraviolet radiation. Another idea is that the a greenhouse effect a global climate change caused by the burning of Fossil fuels is increasing the frequency of droughts. Acid rain is another suspect. A a what a distressing about the Little Guys the amphibians a Wyman said a is that they be been around for 350 million years. They survived what killed the dinosaurs and now they re beginning to pop