[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 53 (Wednesday, May 3, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E625]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              GREEN UP DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 3, 2000

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to salute the citizens 
of Vermont who are celebrating the 30th anniversary of Green Up Day.
  In the 1960s and 70s, Vermont was on the cutting edge in 
environmental sensitivity. As U.S. Senator George Aiken's remarks 
revealed in the May 5, 1971 Congressional Record:
  ``Mr. President, several times recently, I have advised the Senate of 
things going on in Vermont which have lent and can lend encouragement 
and inspiration to the other States. I now have to report another event 
which could have far-reaching results. Last Saturday, May 1, a 
successful demonstration occurred in my State. This demonstration--
called Green Up Day--was put on largely by our young people and 
extended into every community throughout the length and breadth of 
Vermont. About 75,000 people collected virtually every glass bottle, 
every metal can, every scrap of paper which had been cast onto the 
roadsides by careless and unthinking people. The result was that by 
Saturday evening, Vermont was undoubtedly the cleanest State in the 
Nation.''
  Mr. Speaker, this May Day ritual continues to be an expression in the 
finest American tradition. People--young, old and in between--
businessmen, farmers, workers, students, families, all working together 
to clean up the state. Vermont's clean up, the Vermont way, continues 
to inspire others, and it should serve as a model for dealing with 
litter nationwide.
  Though all other states address litter with ``Adopt-A-Highway,'' and 
21 states now designate a day for statewide cleaning, none matches 
Vermont's long-standing Green Up Day community tradition. I salute the 
citizens of Vermont for their commitment to the environment, to our 
state and to the tradition. Happy 30th anniversary Green Up Vermont.

                          ____________________