*Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico. There has been weather damage, neglected maintenance, vandalism, and looting.
*Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, and Biscayne National Park in Florida. Development has polluted the water, creating a 90 percent drop in wading bird population.
*Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania. Mold, rust, and rot are affecting collections of guns, swords, and photos.
*Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. No surprise, but vehicle congestion and air pollution are giving rise to demands for a mass-transit system.
*Great Smoky Mountains National Park in both Tennessee and North Carolina. According to the NPCA, 50 years ago the summertime viewing was 60 miles, and now it's only 12. Ground-level ozone is damaging 30 species of plants.
*Haleakala National Park in Hawaii. This is the state with the highest number of native species to become extinct.
*Mojave National Preserve in California. A lighted golf course, expansion of the army's tank-testing range, and a new airport for Las Vegas are developments threatening the area.
*Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota. Motorized vehicles are the reported complaint.
*Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. A sewage system is spilling into Yellowstone Lake.
To voice your support of or objection to a cause, visit Congress.org, a Web site that will help you contact your state rep. You can also check out the Bureau of Land Management (www.blm.gov) for information on this land that's your land.
DuhEver heard of the Darwin Awards? Every year there is a list of nominees who contribute to the gene pool by dying in spectacularly stupid ways before they could breed. A nominee this year was found via the Kalamazoo Gazette. A Michigan resident, who was also a mechanic, was killed in March while trying to repair what police described as a "farm-type truck." The guy got a friend to drive the truck on a highway while he hung underneath to ascertain the source of a troubling noise. But, lo and behold, his clothes caught on something, however, and the other man found the nominee "wrapped in the driveshaft." In other words, kids, don't try this at home.
New Crash Protection In FordsFoMoCo will begin installing hollow, energy-absorbing steel bars just beneath the front and rear bumpers in its industrial pickups, and possibly in '01 four-wheel-drive Expeditions, Lincoln Navigators, and F-150 pickups, to reduce the risk they have of riding over cars in crashes. The Excursion already features these bars. Think locomotives-the horizontal bars would catch the bumpers, reinforced door sills, and other safety features in cars.