VICE PRESIDENT GORE: STRONG ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP
FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUMAs we enter the 21st century, Americans know that a healthy environment and a strong economy go hand in hand. Indeed, we today enjoy the cleanest environment in a generation and the longest economic expansion in our nation’s history.
Al Gore has long been at the forefront of efforts to protect our environment and quality of life in ways that promote strong, sustainable economic growth. Since entering public office in 1976 as member of the U.S. House of Representatives, he has fought to improve public health, preserve natural treasures, promote cleaner, energy-efficient business, protect oceans and coasts, reinvent environmental regulation, and combat global warming. His 1992 book, Earth in the Balance, is widely recognized as a passionate, penetrating analysis of the environmental challenges we face.
As a member of Congress, Al Gore helped lead the fight for stronger air and water quality protections for millions of Americans and for passage of the original Superfund law to clean up toxic waste sites. Later as a U.S. Senator, he led early calls for research and action to address the threat of global warming.
As Vice President, Al Gore has been instrumental in launching new initiatives to meet key environmental challenges. His Livable Communities initiative has helped communities across the country grow in ways that ensure a high quality of life and strong, sustainable economic growth. With his leadership, the Administration has adopted the strongest air quality protections ever, cleaned up three times as many Superfund sites as the two previous Administrations combined, and undertaken initiatives to protect more land in the lower 48 states than during any Administration since the time of Theodore Roosevelt. And he has continued fighting to protect the global environment, playing a critical role in negotiating a strong, cost-effective treaty to combat global warming.
The Vice President also has led the charge in encouraging America’s business leaders to develop innovative new technologies that strengthen our competitiveness while protecting our environment. Through the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles, he has worked with auto makers to spur new technologies that promise dramatic increase in automotive fuel economy – reducing our reliance on imported oil while saving consumers money. And he has worked with President Clinton on a series of Executive Orders that establish the Federal government as a model for innovative, cost-effective environmental management.
Vice President Al Gore has an unrivaled record of action and leadership in protecting our environment. We invite you to explore recent environmental announcements made by the Vice President.
Safeguarding Our Oceans and Coasts
Marine Protected Areas and Coral Reef Protection. Following the National Ocean Conference in June of 1998, a new Executive Order was issued on May 26, 2000 directing agencies to establish a network of ocean conservation areas; authorizing the Commerce and Interior departments to develop a plan to permanently protect Hawaii’s rich coral reefs; and directing the Environmental Protection Agency to take new steps to limit the pollution of beaches, oceans and coasts.
Preserving America's Natural Treasures
California Desert Protection. On May 18, 2000, Vice President Gore secured the money needed to complete a historic acquisition of 404,000 acres of pristine desert lands in Southern California. The land will be purchased from the Catellus Development Corporation with $5 million in federal funds secured by the Administration in the fiscal year 2000 budget and a $15 million donation from The Wildlands Conservancy. The land is being preserved for future generations through a true public-private effort that could serve as a model for future cooperation
Roadless Area Protection. On May 9, 2000, the Forest Service unveiled a draft proposal to protect more than 40 million acres of roadless areas in our national forests from road construction.
Great Lakes Conservation. On April 18, 2000, the Vice President announced a new partnership with the state of Ohio to help farmers protect their lands while improving water quality. The Lake Erie Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program will protect Lake Erie and 5,000 miles of Ohio streams by reducing soil erosion and runoff pollution in northwest Ohio watersheds.
Creation of New National Monuments. On April 14, 2000, President Clinton signed an executive order creating the Giant Sequoia National Monument on 328,000 acres in Sequoia National Forest in California. Additionally, on January 11, 2000, the President created three new national monuments - the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument and the Agua Fria National Monuments in Arizona, and the California Coastal National Monument, and expanded the Pinnacles National Monument in California.
Conservation on the Farm. On May 19, 2000, Vice President Gore announced that the U. S. Department of Agriculture will enroll approximately 2.5 million acres of environmentally sensitive farmland in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The program encourages farmers and ranchers to voluntarily adopt long-term conservation practices.
Ensuring Safe and Healthy Communities
Pipeline Safety. On April 11, 2000, the Administration proposed comprehensive new legislation to improve the safety of oil and gas pipelines across the country, and to strengthen citizens’ right to know about pipelines in their communities.
Revitalization of Toxic Waste Sites. On May 18, 2000, the EPA awarded over $42 million in grants to more than 143 communities across the country to clean up brownfields -- abandoned, lightly contaminated properties often found in economically distressed areas -- and return them to economically thriving, community hubs.
Providing Safe Drinking Water
Arsenic Reduction. On May 25, 2000, the EPA proposed to reduce the legal limit for arsenic in drinking water by 90 percent to lower cancer risks.
Protecting Groundwater. On April 17, 2000, announced an Administration proposal to improve drinking water quality for 109 million Americans by protecting groundwater supplies from disease-causing viruses and bacteria, such as E. coli. The proposed rule -- the first to extend such protections to underground sources of drinking water -- is expected to prevent over 115,000 illnesses a year.
Elimination of Harmful Microbes. On March 30, 2000, unveiled steps to protect an additional 40 million Americans from potentially dangerous microbes, including Cryptosporidium, in their drinking water. A new standard proposed by EPA will provide the first-ever protection against these contaminants for people in small communities. This proposal is expected to prevent as many as 83,000 cases of waterborne illness each year.
Meeting the Challenge of Global Warming
New Executive Orders to Reduce Government’s Emissions. On April 22, 2000, two new executive orders were unveiled to help meet the challenge of climate change. The first order improves fuel efficiency by requiring the Federal government to reduce fuel use in its vehicle fleets by 20 percent over the next five years. The second order offers federal workers incentives to use public transportation, cutting fuel use and the pollution that contributes to climate change.
Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential Appliances. On April 19, 2000, the Vice President announced proposed new standards to improve the energy efficiency of residential water heaters that would result in consumer savings of more than $23 billion in energy over the next two decades. On May 24, 2000, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson announced an agreement with the washing machine industry to produce machines by 2007 that use half as much energy as most current models.
Promoting Jobs and the Environment
Next Generation Trucks. On April 21, 2000, the Vice President announced a new research partnership with several of the nation’s largest heavy-duty engine and truck companies to develop super fuel-efficient vehicles that will dramatically improve America's fuel economy while cutting greenhouse gases and other air pollutants.
Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles. On March 30, 2000, Vice President Gore announced efforts to work with the Big 3 auto makers through the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles on new commitments to begin putting vehicles with significant improvements in fuel economy into volume production and into dealers’ showrooms in three to four years.
Greening the Government
Executive Order to Reduce Government Toxic Releases. On April 21, 2000, the Vice President announced a new Executive Order, part of a series of "Greening the Government" initiatives, that requires the federal government to achieve graduate reductions in toxic chemical releases, the use of toxic chemicals, hazardous substances, and other pollutants.
Progress on "Greening the Government". On April 21, 2000, Vice President Gore released a new report, "Greening the Government: A Report to the President on Federal Leadership and Progress," that highlights the progress Federal agencies have made in response to six "Greening the Government" executive orders. Those orders have directed Federal executive agencies to take concrete steps to conserve energy and natural resources, prevent pollution, reduce waste generation, eliminate usage of ozone depleting products, purchase recycled, energy-efficient, and environmentally preferable products, and reduce usage of toxic substances.
Protecting the Global Environment
China. On May 19, 2000, the Vice President released a joint statement between the United States and China pledging stronger cooperation on a range of efforts to protect the environment and promote sustainable development, including international efforts to combat global climate change.
India. On March 22, 2000, President Clinton announced an agreement to aid environmental programs in India on clean energy and climate change.
FY 2001 Budget
The Clinton-Gore Administration has proposed a record $42.5 billion in FY 2001 to protect our natural resources, our communities and families, and the global environment. The proposed environment budget represents an 11 percent increase over FY 2000 and a 36 percent increase over FY 1993.
Lands Legacy. The Administration’s FY 2001 budget proposes a record $1.4 billion to protect land and coastal resources and will seek dedicated funding at this level each and every year to ensure continued efforts to preserve America’s natural heritage. This proposed Lands Legacy Initiative funding would provide significant new resources to states and communities to protect wildlife and local green spaces, support federal efforts to save natural and historic treasures, and expand efforts to protect ocean and coastal resources.
Climate Change. The Administration’s FY 2001 budget proposes over $2.4 billion (a more than 40 percent increase over FY 2000 enacted levels) in funding to combat global climate change. This includes increased investments in research and development of clean energy technology, the Climate Change Technology Initiative, and offers tax incentives to consumers who buy energy efficient cars, homes, appliances and other clean energy products.
Great Lakes Restoration. The Administration’s FY 2001 budget proposes a new $50 million Great Lakes Initiative to provide Great Lakes communities with matching grants to help them restore and protect their waterways for drinking, fishing, swimming, boating and urban redevelopment.
Global Forest Protection. The FY 2001 budget proposes a record $150 million – a $70 million increase over FY 2000 – for a new Greening the Globe Initiative to give developing countries tools and resources to strengthen their economies by protecting, not destroying, their irreplaceable forests.
Building Livable Communities. The Administration’s FY 2001 budget proposes $9.3 billion, a 14 percent increase over FY 2000, for the Administration’s Livable Communities Initiative, which helps communities grow in ways that enhance their quality of life and ensure strong, sustainable economic growth.
Childhood Lead Poisoning Reduction. The Administration’s FY 2001 budget proposes $165 million to launch a 10-year strategy to end childhood lead poisoning by eliminating lead hazards, strengthening enforcement, advancing research, and improving health monitoring and intervention.
Promotion of Conservation on the Farm. The Administration’s FY 2001 budget proposes $1.3 billion for conservation programs that help family farmers take steps to protect water quality and the environment and to preserve farmland pressured by sprawl. This conservation package is part of a larger Administration budget proposal to strengthen the farm safety net.
GORE ON THE ENVIRONMENT"None of our children should have to worry whether the water they drink is pure or the air they breathe is clean," Gore said. "We have proven, once and for all, that pollution does not have to be the price of prosperity. If Congress ever passes a measure that would unacceptably undermine our environment or weaken critical public health protections, I will veto it."
"For me, a commitment to the environment has always run deeper than politics. We have to do what's right for our environment, because it involves all of our lives - from the simple security of knowing that our drinking water is safe, to the more ominous thinning of the ice caps at the top of the Earth."
GORE RECORDGore and the Administration Strengthened Clean Air Protections. In 1997, the Administration approved strong new clean air standards for soot and smog that could prevent up to 15,000 premature deaths a year and improve the lives of millions of Americans who suffer from respiratory illnesses. They are currently defending the standards against legal assaults by polluters.
Gore was an Original Cosponsor of the Water Quality Act of 1987, which amended the nation's main water pollution control law, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 (the Clean Water Act). This Act established, for the first time, a mandatory federal permit program to control discharges of industrial and municipal wastewater. In addition, the Act also authorized $18 billion for sewage treatment plants and other funds for water pollution control programs.
Gore Helped Lead Early Efforts Against Global Warming. As Vice President, and as a U.S. Senator, Al Gore has been recognized as an early leader in international efforts to combat global warming:
Co-sponsored early legislation to study the implications of global warming and to encourage the development of environmental technologies to combat global warming.
Chaired the U.S. Congressional delegation to the Interparliamentary Conference on the Global Environment, which reached an agreement between 40 nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Led the U.S. Senate delegation to the "Earth Summit," which produced a new understanding of the role of the interdependency of environment, trade and finance, consumption patterns and the need to set out to determine a long-term plan for global sustainable development.
Helped produce an agreement at the Kyoto Global Warming Conference among 150 nations for limiting the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere.
Gore Pushed the Bush Administration to Speed the Phase-Out of Ozone Depleting Chemicals. Gore sponsored an amendment to express the sense of the Senate that the EPA should accelerate the phase-out of chemicals that deplete the ozone layer and move to strengthen the 1987 Montreal Protocol to protect the ozone layer. The New York Times reported that Gore's amendment helped to push the Bush Administration to "a surprise reversal of its public position…support[ing] a Senate action to phase out much faster the chemicals that damage the protective ozone layer high in the atmosphere." In 1989, 300,000 metric tons of CFCs were emitted in the United States. By 1996, ozone depleting chloroflurocarbon (CFC) emissions were eliminated.
Gore and the Administration Worked to Expand Our Ability to Address Global Climate Change. Al Gore and the Administration secured $11.6 billion for the Global Change Research Program to enhance surface and satellite monitoring of changes in temperature and precipitation and expand climate change research efforts. The Administration also secured more than $2 billion to research and develop clean energy technologies within carbon-emitting sectors of the economy as part of the Climate Change Technology Initiative.
Gore is Working to Meet the Challenge of Global Warming. Al Gore and the Administration proposed an FY 2001 budget, which includes $2.4 billion -- a 42 percent increase -- to combat global climate change, and $1.7 billion for scientific research into factors influencing climate and the likely consequences of global warming.
Gore Chaired Some of the First Congressional Hearings on Toxic Waste Clean Up. On October 30, 1978, Al Gore chaired the first congressional oversight hearing on the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) dealing with toxic waste clean up. This House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing was the first in a lengthy series of hearings that examined hazardous waste dump sites, and laid the groundwork for passage of the Superfund Act in 1980. At Gore's urging, the committee later undertook a "Waste Disposal Site Survey" of the 53 largest domestic chemical companies. This survey disclosed data on 3,383 disposal sites, approximately 2,000 of which were previously unknown to the EPA.
The Clinton-Gore Administration Cleaned Up 3 times as Many Toxic Waste Sites as the Reagan and Bush Administrations Combined. Since 1993, the Clinton-Gore Administration has cleaned up 525 toxic waste sites- over three times more than were cleaned up during the previous 12 years. Cleanup is completed or underway at over 90% of all Superfund sites. Furthermore, the Clinton-Gore Administration has worked to reduce the release of toxic chemicals in private industry and from the federal government. Toxic chemical releases were down over 23% between 1991 and 1997, and Department of Defense toxic releases have fallen 64.8% between 1994 and 1998.
Gore Launched the Administration's Livable Communities Initiative. Al Gore launched the Administration's Livable Communities initiative to provide citizens and communities with the tools and the resources needed to encourage smart growth, ease congestion, and improve quality of life. The initiative includes a citizen website and calls for $700 million in tax credits to help local communities raise $10.75 billion in Better America Bonds to achieve quality of life improvements for Americans. In addition, the Administration's FY2001 budget calls for $9.3 billion, a 14 percent increase, for the Administration's Livable Communities initiative to help communities grow in ways that enhance quality and strong economies.
Gore Led the Administration's Successful Brownfield Redevelopment Efforts. In May 1997, Al Gore announced the Administration's Brownfields National Partnership to streamline resources from 20 federal agencies to address Brownfield cleanup and redevelopment. The program contributed to the Administration's successful revitalization of over 30,000 brownfield sites across America since 1995. The Administration also provided almost $70 million in seed grants to over 300 communities and brought over $1.6 billion in private funds into revitalization projects.
Gore and the Administration Have Been Fighting for Full Funding of the Lands Legacy Initiative. For the second year in a row, Al Gore and the Administration have proposed full and permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) through their Lands Legacy initiative. As part of their FY2001 budget proposal, the President and Vice President have requested $1.4 billion for the Lands Legacy initiative to build upon the $652 million secured by the Administration for the initiative in the FY2000 budget. The Clinton-Gore Administration is the first administration in many years to request full funding of the LCWF.
Gore and the Administration Have Protected America's Environmental Treasures. Al Gore has taken an active role in the Administration's efforts to protect our environmental treasures. In 1996, Gore unveiled a strategy to protect the Everglades, and in 1998 Gore unveiled a $7.8 billion proposal to restore the natural water flow in the Everglades. Gore also supported efforts to ban drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and to protect valuable roadless areas in National forests. In addition, the Administration has used the Antiquities Act to preserve and protect five natural treasures - more acreage in the lower 48 states than any prior administration in history. The Administration also has created 13 new national parks.
Gore and the Administration Have Protected America's Rivers and Forests. The Clinton-Gore Administration worked to protect more than 10 million acres of old growth reserves in the Pacific Northwest, and to restore and revitalize 14 "American Heritage Rivers." In 1994, the Administration created a Pacific Northwest Forest plan to protect the Northern Spotted Owl while allowing timber-dependent communities the opportunity for economic growth. Timber harvested from national forests has decreased 54.8% while recreational use of national forests has increased 29.6% from 263 to 341 million visitor days between 1992 and 1998.
Gore and the Administration Worked To Protect Forests and Biodiversity Around the World. In its FY 2001 budget, the Administration called for $150 million for a new Greening the Globe initiative to help stem the loss of forests worldwide.
Gore on possibel uranium plant in Tennessee: ''I have been involved for nearly 30 years in the discussion about nuclear energy as a sustainable energy future and I can say with no hesitation that this facility is not in the best interest of Middle Tennessee,'' Gore said in a prepared statement released late this afternoon.
Gore, who owns a farm in neighboring Smith County but now lives in Nashville, echoed the concerns of many local residents about long-term storage of the plant's by-product, called tails, in the statement.
''The accumulation of hazardous, radioactive waste may become a never-ending problem for local citizens, and I don't believe we can be assured that sources of drinking water, like the Cumberland River, will be adequately protected,'' Gore said in the statement.
More Referenceshttp://clinton5.nara.gov/WH/Accomplishments/environment.htmlhttp://clinton1.nara.gov/White_House/EOP/O...tml/Enviro.htmlhttp://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/EOP/OVP/24hours/vpenv.htmlhttp://clinton2.nara.gov/WH/EOP/OVP/24hours/carson.htmlhttp://clinton3.nara.gov/WH/New/WTO-Conf-1...19991116-b.html