Armageddon looms–but no need to miss work. “Warlord Bush has declared war on the entire world,” reads a widely circulated E-mail about a May Day planning meeting. “The attempt to take control of the world economically using the World Trade Organization has stalled. Now they are turning to guns and police state tactics.” And by the way, “May Day 2002 festivities probably will take place on Saturday, May 4th, so there will be no need to miss work in order to attend this special world-wide celebration.”
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In recovery from the 20th century? “At the dawn of the 20th century, most Illinois streams had sinuous courses with associated rich marshes and swamps,” reports the state Department of Natural Resources in its publication “Critical Trends in Illinois Ecosystems” (dnr.state.il.us/ orep/ctap2/toc1.htm). “The stream banks were lined with protective vegetation that reduced the likelihood of bank failures and heavy erosion. Since then agriculture and development have drastically reduced the health of our streams–marshes and swamps have disappeared, streams have become turbid, and their channels have been straightened and levied. Some species of freshwater mussels, environmentally sensitive aquatic insects, and fish that were once common to Illinois waters have been extirpated from the state. Nonetheless, it appears that Illinois streams have survived the worst period of degradation. Improvements in municipal sewage treatment and better agricultural practices have dramatically improved the health of Illinois streams in the past three decades.”
Unionism for the middle class. Chances that a Chicago-area household with income between $60,000 and $70,000 is a credit union member: four in ten. With an income under $20,000: one in ten (“Rhetoric and Reality: An Analysis of Mainstream Credit Unions’ Record of Serving Low-Income People,” Woodstock Institute, February).
