PANIC DOESN’T HELP, whether you’re a parent, pet owner, writer of rules or objector to rules being written.

Framing situations in words that suggest “everybody needs to freak out,” often gets in the way of meaningful action, as David Lindau observed in Thursday’s front-page article, “Cleanup Day Gains Speed” (see “Coastal Cleanup Slots Filling Quickly” on the home page).

Lindau, coordinator of the upcoming April 17 Coastal Cleanup Day, is urging people to take meaningful action by helping clean North Olympic Peninsula beaches in two weeks.

The act-don’t-panic message is true across the board, as illustrated by Thursday’s other Peninsula Daily News front-page articles.

Nippon Paper Industries’ biomass boiler project is an ecological coup that will generate green power while reducing air pollution (“PA Mill Secures Biomass Funding”).

Doing an Internet search for “biomass boiler emissions” produces some 91,000 listing about the new Earth-friendly twist on an old, formerly dirty, technology.

Nevertheless, groups such as the Center for Biological Diversity are beating the enviro-panic drum, warning of potential problems including “ecologically destructive logging practices; economic harm to appropriate scale, community based business; and decreased long-term stability of rural communities.”

The same Web site posts concerns about wind turbines’ potential harm to raptors, other birds and bats (www.biologicaldiversity.org).

No matter how good new technology may be, some group invariably raises concerns.

And, oh yes, please send money. The sky is falling.

Also on Thursday’s front page was news that the state Department of Ecology is holding firm on taking three years just to create an environmental cleanup plan for the former Rayonier mill site in Port Angeles.

If writing the plan requires three years, Ecology should have finished it 10 years ago.

The mill closed in 1997 — my second year in office as a Clallam County commissioner. That’s 13 years ago, not 10 years.

At that time, we were told that if the federal Environmental Protection Agency took the lead, cleanup would take 10 years. State Ecology would get it done in about half that, we were told.

County and city officials, business and economic development leaders and even environmental activists agreed Ecology should take the lead.

Since then, headlines about wanting quick action have been recycled regularly, but it’s always the same old news.

“Nothing has changed in my opinion,” Harbor-Works Executive Director Jeff Lincoln was quoted.

Actually, the site has been repeatedly surveyed for contaminates, and some 25,000 tons of contaminated soil has been removed.

What hasn’t changed is the enviro-panic demand for more and more studies, leading to less and less concrete action.

But then Ecology never moves swiftly.

Early 1980s legislation sectioned Washington state into Water Resource Inventory Areas, called WRIAs.

Ecology seized upon a 1971 legislative order to establish minimum base flows for rivers and streams to preserve water for competing uses, as a mandate for setting optimum in-stream flows.

The WRIA process is still making headlines, but no real change.

People concerned about the impacts are asking the same questions that were being asked a dozen years ago, when I was in office — and still getting the same panic-producing non-answers.

Public policy panic is a long song with many verses, as well as myriad parallel versions sung by activists panicked on a host of non-environmental issues.

Sometimes all it takes is a little calm action to dispel panic and make a positive difference.

For example from another PDN front-page story Thursday, a bobcat’s attempt to invite one of Andrew Lesko’s house cats out for lunch Saturday, led to panic for both cats.

Not wanting to be lunch, the tame cat, Boo Boo, ran off into the woods.

Confused, the wild cat ran into Lesko’s Port Ludlow home, panicked, ran upstairs and trapped itself (“Bobcat Infiltrates Home On Peninsula”).

Lesko stepped outside and dialed 9-1-1.

Calm action from the homeowner and the peace officers who responded soon produced a happy ending for all.

The bobcat was returned safely to the woods.

Boo Boo returned safely home on his own.

Actual action always outshines panic that produces only worry and words.

For a good start on taking action, log onto www.CoastSavers.org and sign up to clean a beach.

________

Martha Ireland was a Clallam County commissioner from 1996 through 1999 and is the secretary of the Republican Women of Clallam County., among other community endeavors.

Her column appears Fridays.

E-mail her at irelands@olypen.com.