[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.

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