[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 49 (Thursday, April 21, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4101-S4102]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EARTH DAY 2005
Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, not many people can lay claim to a day,
but Gaylord Nelson can. On April 22, 1970, Gaylord Nelson created a day
to celebrate the glory of the Earth. Nelson biographer Bill
Christofferson asks ``Where did Nelson get his lifelong interest and
dedication to the environment? By osmosis, [Nelson] would say, while
growing up in Clear Lake Wisconsin.''
It's true that Wisconsin has a tradition of great conservationists,
Aldo Leopold, author of Sand County Almanac; Sigurd Olson, one of the
founders of the Wilderness Society; and John Muir, founder of the
Sierra Club. But because of Gaylord Nelson, Wisconsin can lay claim to
the genesis of Earth Day, a day of national and international
remembrance of the importance of our natural resources and a clean
environment.
While these great leaders are well known for their conservation
vision, Wisconsinites across the State do their part every day to make
that vision a reality. From the backyards and parks of our cities and
suburbs to our forests and farms, we take our stewardship of the land
seriously. For example, our farmers continue to work with the support
of Federal, State and local partnerships to prevent pollution, improve
wildlife habitat, and protect wetlands and open spaces, investing
millions of dollars in hundred of thousands of acres each year, all
while ensuring the land is healthy enough to produce food and raw
materials for generations to come.
I know that the people of Wisconsin, living in such a beautiful and
ecologically diverse State, feel a special connection to our natural
resources and share a long tradition of our State government achieving
excellence in its conservation policies. Conservation is part of our
culture in Wisconsin, and the people in Wisconsin are very
environmentally savvy. Every year I hold a town hall meeting in each
one of Wisconsin's 72 counties, and protecting the environment is a top
issue.
I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Nelson. He is a
former member of this body, and I am privileged to hold his Senate
seat. He is a distinguished former Governor of the State of Wisconsin,
a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a personal hero
of mine. I salute Gaylord Nelson for changing the consciousness of a
Nation. He is the living embodiment of the principle that one person
can truly change the world.
During his 18 years of service in the Senate, Gaylord Nelson brought
about significant change for the ``greener'' in both our Nation's law
and the institution of the Senate itself. He is the co-author of the
Environmental Education Act, which he sponsored with the senior Senator
from Massachusetts, Mr. Kennedy, and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act,
and he sponsored the amendment to give the St. Croix and the Namekagon
Rivers scenic protection. In the wake of Rachel Carson's book Silent
Spring, Gaylord Nelson, along with Senator Philip Hart of Michigan,
directed national attention to the documented persistent
bioaccumulative effects of organochlorine pesticides used in the Great
Lakes by authoring the ban on DDT in 1972. He was the primary sponsor
of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Act, protecting one of
northern Wisconsin's most beautiful areas.
And Senator Nelson, of course, was the founder of Earth Day. Thanks
to him, here we are 35 years later taking time out of our lives to
think about conservation. An astonishing 20 million Americans, 10
percent of the U.S. population, participated in the first observance of
Earth Day on April 22, 1970. American Heritage magazine described the
event as ``one of the most remarkable happenings in the history of
democracy.'' The day was marked by marches, rallies, teach-ins, and
concerts. Fifth Avenue was closed for 2 hours and over 100,000 people
celebrated Earth Day on Union Square in New York City.
Earth Day is an event that in addition to changing the environmental
consciousness of the country literally stopped the Senate. Members of
both bodies voted to adjourn their respective Houses in the middle of
the legislative week to attend Earth Day events, an adjournment that
would be extremely rare today. Twenty-two Senators participated by
giving Earth Day speeches across the country. The National Education
Association, NEA, estimated that 10 million school children celebrated
in the first Earth Day. The States of New Jersey and New York created
State environmental agencies that week.
Earth Day has become an important part of who we are. From Milwaukee,
[[Page S4102]]
WI, to Mumbai, India, millions of people across the world are taking
Senator Nelson's legacy to heart. They are volunteering tomorrow and
this weekend to conserve the environment whether it is in their
backyard, local river, or park.
I hope that on this Earth Day 2005, the Congress will re-dedicate
itself to achieving the bipartisan consensus on protecting the
environment that existed for nearly 2 decades. The Clean Water Act, for
example, passed the Senate in 1971 by a vote of 86-0. When President
Nixon vetoed it, the Senate overrode his veto, 52-12. The Endangered
Species Act, which is under such attack right now, was passed by the
Senate on a 92-0 vote in 1973.
Unfortunately, in recent years we have faced numerous proposals to
roll back the environmental and health and safety protections upon
which Americans depend. From clean water to clean air, the list of
environmental rollbacks is stunning and disturbing. We need to work
together to protect the environment, not revert to the times when we
saw the Cuyahoga River catch fire, when at least one of the Great Lakes
was considered ``ecologically dead,'' and when dumping of toxic wastes
into rivers was standard operating procedure.
Gaylord Nelson stated on the 30th Anniversary of Earth Day:
We have finally come to understand that the real wealth of
a nation is its air, water, soil, forests, rivers, lakes,
oceans, scenic beauty, wildlife habitats, and biodiversity.
Take this resource away, and all that is left is a wasteland.
That's the whole economy. That is where the economic activity
and all the jobs come from. These biological systems contain
the sustaining wealth of the world.
As we continue to degrade them, we are consuming our
capital. And in the process, we erode our living standards
and compromise the quality of our habitat. We are veering
down a dangerous path. We are not just toying with nature; we
are compromising the capacity of natural systems to do what
they need to do to preserve a livable world.
Last night, Senator Nelson issued a statement to mark the 35th
anniversary of Earth Day and calling Earth Day 2005 ``a wake up call.''
Senator Nelson said:
On environmental issues, our intelligence is reliable. Our
scientists have the facts, if we will only listen. It is a
``slam dunk'' that we cannot continue on our present course.
But without Presidential and Congressional leadership, even
an enlightened public cannot cope with the greatest challenge
of our time.
I agree with this assessment, and I ask unanimous consent that the
full text of Senator Nelson's 35th anniversary of Earth Day statement
be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Earth Day Anniversary 2005--A Wake Up Call
The 35th anniversary of Earth Day is a sobering occasion.
On previous anniversaries we have hailed this ``new
awakening'' as millions around the world suddenly rose up and
pledged their support for a new campaign to save the natural
environment.
In 1993 American Heritage magazine called Earth Day ``one
of the most remarkable happenings in the history of
democracy.'' There has been progress, of course, particularly
in public awareness of the critical role environment plays in
our lives and in the education and training of new
environmental leaders. Environment has become a major
political issue. The public is prepared to support those
measures necessary to forge a sustainable society, if the
President and the Congress have the vision to lead us to that
goal.
Unfortunately, the President and the Congress have not
stepped up to the challenge of providing national and world
leadership on the environmental crisis.
In fact, on some key issues, they are actually resisting or
reversing progress made in the past 30 to 40 years. And
without strong, sustained leadership from the President and
Congress, the urgent challenge to protect the environment and
create a sustainable society cannot succeed. Theodore
Roosevelt made conservation a top priority for the Republican
party, and many members of his party carried that torch over
the years. Recently, however, the GOP leadership has
abandoned this cause.
There are many serious environmental problems confronting
us. But two current environmental issues dramatize this
failure of leadership--energy conservation, and population
control. Both are critical to the sustainability of our
society. In each case, there is not only a lack of wise
national leadership but an apparent determination to turn
back the clock. The surrender to special interests on these
two issues makes a mockery of any claim to environmental
awareness.
Egged on by the President, the Senate on March 16 sneaked
into the annual budget resolution a scheme to allow drilling
for oil in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,
protected in 1960 at the urging of great environmentalists
such as Sigurd Olson, Justice William O. Douglas, and
Wilderness Act author Howard Zahniser. The bill was signed by
President Eisenhower.
This is not just a sabotage of environmental policy. It
also undermines any hope for a wise energy policy. When all
the evidence calls for bold steps to conserve energy and
develop alternative sources, this cynical action implies that
we can burn all the oil we want and just move on to the next
untapped source, no matter where it might be.
We are told it may be 10 years before a very modest amount
of oil could be produced from this pristine refuge. And what
would it cost in real terms?
For the President to call for oil drilling in the Arctic
Wildlife Refuge is like burning the furniture in the White
House to keep the First Family comfortable.
Equally critical is the failure of the President and
Congress to confront the issue of population control, in our
own rapidly growing country and the rest of the world.
A ``Rockefeller Report'' in 1972, issued by the President's
commission on population growth, urged the U.S. to move
vigorously to stabilize our population at about 200 million
as rapidly as possible. Since then our population has
ballooned to 282 million, and is expected to reach 500
million between 2060 and 2070. We are heading into a century
in which we will double and triple our population in a short
time.
Worldwide population projections are equally chilling. A
series of international conferences have called for bold
action to control population growth.
Yet the United States in recent years has become an
aggressive opponent of family planning programs in other
countries, and we are now facing efforts by some ``new
conservatives'' to impose similar restrictions at home.
On previous Earth Days we have offered a solution: The
President should set the standard by delivering a message to
the Congress on the state of the environment, citing
priorities that need to be addressed. Congress then should
hold hearings on these issues. This would produce a
``national dialogue'' on the sustainability of our
environment, and provide a roadmap to the future.
Without Presidential leadership and Congressional hearings,
we cannot claim to be taking seriously the most compelling
threats facing our society.
On environmental issues, our intelligence is reliable. Our
scientists have the facts, if we will only listen. It is a
``slam dunk'' that we cannot continue on our present course.
But without Presidential and Congressional leadership, even
an enlightened public cannot cope with the greatest challenge
of our time.--Gaylord Nelson, Washington, DC, April, 2005.
Mr. FEINGOLD. I hope that Wisconsinites and citizens across America
take Senator Nelson's words to heart. I hope that they use this Earth
Day to collect their thoughts and voice their opinions about the need
to protect the environment and need for Congressional leadership on
this issue.
Wisconsinites value a clean environment, not just for purely
aesthetic or philosophical purposes, but because a clean environment
ensures that Wisconsin and the United States as a whole remains a good
place to raise a family, start a business, and buy a home. We
understand that by protecting our environment we are protecting our
economy. And, it is important on this Earth Day 2005 that we continue
to fight for strong environmental laws, and we press for strong
environmental leadership in Congress. Let's continue to move forward,
not roll back.
____________________