[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 46 (Tuesday, April 25, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E586-E587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      COMMEMORATING EARTH DAY 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 25, 2006

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate Earth Day 2006, 
which was celebrated last Saturday, April 22.
  Earth Day was established in 1970 by Senator Gaylord Nelson of 
Wisconsin, who firmly believed that education was the key to changing 
public attitudes about the environment. Since then, Earth Day 
celebrations have spread throughout America and to the rest of the 
world, with more and more people getting involved in efforts to clean 
and nurture the environment.
  Despite Earth Day's popularity and the many programs that were 
created to improve the planet's health, our world is still wrought with 
environmental problems. We still face many pressing issues, such as 
protecting coastal waters from offshore drilling, preserving the 
Alaskan Tongass Rainforest, the Redrock lands in Utah, and resources in 
the Rockies.
  Closer to home, we must continue to focus our efforts on restoring 
the Chesapeake Bay. The Bush Administration's budget proposes drastic 
cuts to vital initiatives, including the Chesapeake Bay Targeted 
Watershed Grants Program, the EPA's Chesapeake Bay Program Office, and 
several Farm Bill Conservation programs that help farmers reduce 
nutrient runoff entering the Bay. Last year, I was pleased to 
participate in the Living Shoreline Grants program, which involved 
growing seagrasses in my office that I later planted in Annapolis' Back 
Creek. I am also pleased to be an original cosponsor of the Chesapeake 
Bay Restoration Enhancement Act, which will reauthorize the Chesapeake 
Bay Program and implement new water quality standards for the Bay's 
tributaries.
  I have long supported a comprehensive, long-term, more environment-
friendly energy policy that places emphasis on increasing the 
availability and use of renewable energy, as well as promoting greater 
energy efficiency that new technologies can provide. The United States 
needs to utilize new technologies that focus on renewable energy 
sources to reduce the nation's dependency on foreign oil and high 
gasoline prices.

[[Page E587]]

  Earth Day celebrations serve as important reminders that we cannot 
take America's natural resources for granted. I urge my colleagues to 
join with me in doing our part to preserve, protect, and restore our 
planet's natural treasures.

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