Environment: Payrolls and Pickerel in Maine

An icy northeaster rattled the windows of the statehouse in Augusta while legislators last week considered an issue that was potentially more stormy: imposition of the strongest state anti-pollution controls in the U.S. on an industry that Maine's economy needs. Yet the debate was calm. The lawmakers had become so convinced of the need to protect the environment that the bills aroused only token opposition. As oil lobbyists watched uneasily, the legislation was quickly approved in both houses.

Not that Maine can afford to discourage income-producing industry. One-third of its wage earners make...

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