By DAVE HAMRICK
Editor-at-large

What I want to know is how the Atlanta region wound up on the hit list of both federal agencies and environmental extremists in the first place.

Surely you've heard the news by now that once again the environmental groups have filed suit to prevent transportation improvements in the region, claiming that the lastest Atlanta Regional Commission plans, approved by the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (also known as the MARTA Mafia), will make air quality in the region worse, not better.

They've got us over a barrel there, because there is no scientific way to prove what they're insisting we prove. If the number of airplanes flying out of Hartsfield Airport keeps increasing, air quality is going to get worse no matter how many people ride buses and trains and leave their SUVs at home.

Of course, the science by which they condemn us is fuzzier than a pimp's dashboard, and the federal agencies that have decreed that Atlantans may not decide our own future have no constitutional authority to take control of elected governments the way they have. Nevertheless, with our current governor firmly in control and every new attempt at compromise halted by these environmental nut cases, it looks like the only future for Atlanta is transportation strangulation.

But why did they pick Atlanta? There are dozens of cities where the air is notoriously dirty. There are places where economic development folks aren't nearly as concerned about bringing in clean industry, but are eager to offer all kinds of tax incentives for any pollution-spewing, water-guzzling job producer that will come along.

What could it be about our area that has these folks in such an uproar.

Could it beeeee... SUCCESS?!

Is it possible that we've been singled out for such special attention because we are living the American dream — a society where people are free to make their own choices and receive the rewards and consequences of those choices without government interference?

In other areas, the federal government told the local folks that huge, expensive train systems like MARTA would make their air cleaner. The air in those places has not gotten cleaner as a result, the cost has been enormous and the systems have to be perpetually propped up with tax dollars because people simply won't use them in large enough numbers to keep them going if they have to pay the full cost of a ride.

Same is true with MARTA, but the difference is that most of the region didn't fall for it. We're doing just fine without it, thank you very much, and the feds just can't stand that.

They've strong-armed us (with our governor's help) into coming up with a new plan that might come closer to satisfying them, but apparently it's still not enough for the environmentalists. They won't be satisfied until they can dictate our life-style jot and tittle from their white horses, never once having been asked to prove any of their claims.

Well, I'm sure we'll all breathe easier now that our duly elected governments have been stopped from building more roads. Let's see if I can understand the logic... having twice as many cars jammed into half as much space for twice as long, idling instead of moving forward, will make the air cleaner.

Good plan.

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