[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 51 (Tuesday, April 30, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E661]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  ON THE 32ND ANNIVERSARY OF EARTH DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 30, 2002

  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, as the 32nd anniversary of Earth Day was 
recently celebrated, it was wonderful to note how environmental 
conservation issues have become part of the public consciousness. The 
grass-roots movement that established the environment as an important 
political issue in the 1970s has brought lasting changes on both the 
national and local level. In Congress, the need for environmental 
legislation has resulted in the passage of the Clean Air Act, the Clean 
Water Act, the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act, the 
Endangered Species Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act. On the local 
level, communities all over the nation, including those in my district 
of Guam, continue to celebrate Earth Day.
  Our local environmental agency, the Guam Environmental Protection 
Agency (GEPA), has organized numerous activities to celebrate Earth 
Day. The programs planned by GEPA embrace the theme ``Environmental 
Education is for Everyone''. All the activities promote environmental 
awareness and the idea that individual action makes a difference. GEPA 
is celebrating Earth Day by holding activities through the month of 
April. Projects include island wide trash clean-ups, hazardous waste 
and `white good' collections, and a Run/Walk/Jog to raise environmental 
awareness. Other planned activities include a young person's art 
competition to illustrate environmental success stories sponsored by 
the United Nations, and two coral reef clean-ups to be performed by 
local scuba divers. Today, I wish to congratulate and commend GEPA's 
efforts to improve the state of the environment on Guam.
  Environmental protection and resource conservation help make the 
planet a healthy place to live and save critical resources for the 
future. Thus, our actions today benefit not only ourselves, but the 
generations yet to come. As we say in Chamorro, ``Prutehi i tano'-ta'': 
we must protect our land.
  Earth Day is an important reminder that we must all work together to 
sustain our island resources and to remember that every action does 
make a difference, On the national level, I will continue to advocate 
for the environment and the people of Guam, supporting bills that 
promote wise management of our coastal zone, protect our resources, and 
conserve our coral reefs. However, it is the actions of local agencies 
and people who effect real environmental change. On this anniversary of 
Earth Day, I would like to thank the Guam Environmental Protection 
Agency and the people of Guam who work to preserve our natural marine 
and terrestrial resources, to achieve clean air, land, and water, and 
to protect the natural environment on our island.

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