[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 158 (Monday, November 10, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2311-E2312]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




IN HONOR OF KENNETH BLOOMHORST FOR HIS ENDURING SYMBOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL 
                               PROTECTION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Sunday, November 9, 1997

  Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to rise today 
to pay tribute to Kenneth Bloomhorst for his contribution to 
environmental protection in this country. Mr. Bloomhorst has the 
distinction of having created the symbol that represents the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency.
  Created over 25 years ago, his work remains the symbol for the Agency 
that is recognized around the country and in many parts of the world 
for the protection of the environment and our Nation's health. Mr. 
Bloomhorst, who was vice president and art director for an Indianapolis 
advertising agency, MWB, Inc., illustrated the seal and his firm 
contributed it to the EPA.
  On October 18, 1971, then President Richard Nixon signed Executive 
Order No. 11628 to establish a seal for the EPA and provided the 
following description of Mr. Bloomhorst's creation.
  ``A flower with a bloom which is symbolic of all the elements of the 
environment. The

[[Page E2312]]

bloom is a sphere, the component parts of which represent the blue sky, 
green earth, blue-green water. A white circle within the sphere denotes 
either the sun or the moon. All are symbolic of a clean environment and 
are superimposed on a disc with a white background, circled by the 
title `UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY' in blue 
letters.''
  Mr. Bloomhorst, in an interview with the Fairborn Daily Herald in 
November 1971, said, ``The symbol at a quick glance represents a 
flower, but it means even more when inspected closely. The flower is 
like the mother earth. If it is not protected, it will wither and die. 
The purpose of the EPA is to keep the environment clean, alive and 
beautiful.''
  Symbols are important in our society, just as are our actions. Mr. 
Bloomhorst's seal was created at the dawn of the American environmental 
movement. Today, a quarter century later, environmental protection 
remains one of Americans' most important values. Yet too often, this 
value has been portrayed as in conflict with other values, such as 
economic growth and job creation even though it has been shown time and 
again that environmental protection and economic growth can, and I 
would argue must, go hand in hand to guarantee a sustainable future for 
ourselves, our children, and the many generations to come.
  The test for our society as we enter the next century is to preserve 
the value that Mr. Bloomhorst portrayed in the EPA seal and to 
integrate this value of environmental protection into the activities of 
all Americans and into the policies of our Government. Without the work 
of the EPA and the environmental laws that it has overseen, such as the 
Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act, America would be a far more 
dangerous and unhealthy place than it is today. Those who have tried to 
undermine this agency on behalf of shortsighed, narrow interests have 
learned that the environment remains a perilous political battleground.
  Mr. Bloomhorst today continues to be an illustrator with an interest 
in the environment. As environmental protection has been such an 
important focus in current events, I believed it was important to rise 
today to congratulate Mr. Bloomhorst for seeing his seal become a 
permanent fixture in our country's landscape and to thank him for his 
important contribution to our history.

                          ____________________