[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 55 (Wednesday, April 21, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S4025]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             EARTH DAY 1999

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, in 1969, American astronauts heading for 
the first walk on the moon sent back breathtaking pictures of the 
Earth. Later that year, Senator Gaylord Nelson called on teachers and 
students to hold a national teach-in on environmental issues.
  The two events were closely related. The NASA photos gave everyone on 
Earth an inescapable image of our planet as one world, a tiny ``blue 
ball'' floating in the vastness of space. Along with Senator Nelson's 
call to action, it helped galvanize a growing consciousness of the 
Earth's fragile environment and how it was affected by human activity.
  Millions of people answered Gaylord Nelson's call. On April 22, 1970, 
over 20 million Americans--including students at 10,000 public schools 
and a thousand colleges--gathered to express their concern about 
environmental issues. ``Earth Day'' was born.
  Congress responded quickly by establishing the Environmental 
Protection Agency and enacting three sweeping laws that laid the 
cornerstone for the environmental protections we enjoy today: the Clean 
Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the National Environmental Policy 
Act.
  The first Earth Day and its aftermath were a great success. On Earth 
Day 1999, we can celebrate the fact that the air we breathe, the water 
we drink, and our oceans, rivers, and streams are cleaner now than when 
Earth Day was first celebrated. In the past three decades, we have 
banned lead in gasoline. We banned DDT. We reduced toxic air emissions. 
We established strong public health standards for drinking water. We 
eliminated direct dumping of sewage into our oceans, rivers, lakes, and 
streams.
  We have made great progress in providing a safer and healthier 
environment for ourselves and our children. But we still have a long 
way to go, especially where children are concerned. Most of our 
environmental standards are designed to protect adults rather than 
children. In most cases, we haven't even done the tests that would 
allow us to measure how harmful substances affect our children. And, 
perhaps most surprisingly, in the face of that uncertainty, we don't 
presume that harmful substances may present special dangers to our 
children and adopt a more protective standard.
  In effect, our environmental laws assume that what we don't know 
about harmful substances won't hurt our children.
  That is why I wrote my Children's Environmental Protection Act, or 
CEPA. CEPA would child-proof our environmental laws. It would require 
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set environmental 
standards to protect children. And, most importantly, if there is no 
specific data that would allow EPA to measure the dangers to children, 
it requires EPA to set a more protective standard to take that lack of 
information into account.
  As we strive to give our children a safer environment, we must also 
consider the natural legacy we hope to leave them. Along with clean air 
and water, we need to preserve wild places and wide-open spaces for 
future generations to enjoy. We need to preserve historic sites, 
conserve farmland, and maintain public parks.
  Earlier this year, Congressman George Miller and I introduced 
sweeping legislation in the Senate and the House of Representatives to 
protect America's historic and natural heritage. The Permanent 
Protection for America's Resources 2000 Act--or Resources 2000--sets 
aside $2.3 billion annually in offshore oil and gas drilling revenues 
to create a sustainable source of funding to acquire and maintain 
public lands, expand urban recreation opportunities, and protect the 
Nation's marine, wildlife, and historic resources.
  To mention just one example, Resources 2000 would mandate full 
funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. In 1965, Congress 
established this Fund, which was to receive $900 million a year from 
Federal oil revenues for acquisition of sensitive lands and wetlands. 
The good news is that Fund has collected over $21 billion since 1965. 
The bad news is that only $9 billion of this amount has been spent on 
its intended uses. More than $12 billion has been shifted into other 
Federal accounts. Resources 2000 would fund the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund at $900 million per year, the full level authorized 
by Congress.
  On Earth Day 1999, I ask my colleagues once again to answer Gaylord 
Nelson's noble call to action. Let us enact an agenda that will sustain 
both a healthy economy and a healthy environment. Let us rededicate 
ourselves to the principles of Earth Day and do all we can to heal, 
protect, and honor the Earth.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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