[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 59 (Wednesday, April 22, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E943-E944]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               EARTH DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GWEN MOORE

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 22, 2009

  Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Madam Speaker, I rise today to talk about 
Earth Day which as you know is being celebrated in communities 
throughout our country and around the world today.
  I can't begin any conversation about Earth Day without talking about 
Wisconsin's former governor and U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, who was 
the driving force behind this important event.
  I don't mean to boast but I don't think its coincidental that 
Wisconsin has been the birthplace of many prominent figures in the 
environmental movement and who helped shaped the environmental laws 
that have helped to create.
  Wisconsinites have long recognized the need to be stewards of the 
environment. It's common sense when you grow up next to one of the 
largest sources of freshwater on the planet.
  Gaylord Nelson is certainly one of those environmental champions of 
whom our state is proud and whose record of advocacy and accomplishment 
around the environment has not only impacted our nations, but the 
world. Earth Day is but one example of that.
  He is rightly noted and celebrated for his role in the first ``Earth 
Day'' event which took place some 39 years ago.
  But that is not where his involvement in the environmental movement 
began and not where it ended either. Before it was popular to be an 
environmentalist, Senator Nelson was working to make sure our nation's 
air, water, and natural resources were protected.
  Senator Nelson was a mover and shaker not just in creating Earth Day 
but in starting the movement to bring the protection of our air, water, 
and public lands to the center of national attention and policy, not 
just an afterthought.
  According to Senator Nelson, his efforts to create what is now Earth 
Day began in the early 1960s when he became troubled ``that the state 
of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the 
country.''
  In 1962, he approached the Kennedy Administration with an idea about 
how to shift the political spotlight to the need for better and pro-
environment laws and policies.
  He helped convince President Kennedy to undertake a national 
conservation tour to draw attention to the issue. While the President 
did the tour, according to Senator Nelson, ``For many reasons the tour 
did not succeed in putting the issue onto the national political 
agenda. However, it was the germ of the idea that ultimately flowered 
into Earth Day.''
  This has probably been one of the most successful grassroots 
movements ever as today millions of Americans and millions more around 
the world are organizing in their communities at river and park cleanup 
events, planting trees and gardens, and other actions to promote 
environmental awareness, with the simple message: We ignore the damage 
being done to our environment at our own peril.
  Over 3,000 people were out in force in my district on Saturday to 
clean rivers and streams throughout the area.
  Since the First Earth Day, we have seen the passage of legislation 
strengthening the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, the establishment of 
the Environmental Protection Agency, the passage of the Endangered 
Species Act, and other steps.
  Yet, the battle continues. Our environment continues to face threats 
from pollution. Rising greenhouse gas emissions and climate change will 
present their own challenge.
  Water shortages and droughts not only in our own country but around 
the world are of great concern. Just today, another report was released 
showing that rivers in some of the world's most populated regions are 
losing water, many because of climate change according to researchers.
  We could all continue to live without oil, but we can't live without 
clean water.
  The battle to keep invasive species out of our nation's waters will 
also continue. In the Great Lakes alone, it is estimated that over 180 
non-native species have taken hold in the Great Lakes and on average, a 
new species is discovered every nine months or so.
  I was pleased to be at an event yesterday in celebration of Earth Day 
where I had the chance to address high school students from my district 
about the importance of the environment and clean water.
  It is future generations that stand to lose the most if we do not 
continue to make the protection and preservation of our environment a 
priority. This is what Senator Nelson and others understood so well 
back then. It is what is incumbent on us all, including policymakers, 
to understand today.
  This Congress has a number of efforts underway to ensure that we 
continue environmental protection remains a prominent place in federal 
policy.
  Senator Nelson was one of the authors of the Wilderness Act of 1964 
which authorized the federal government to protect forever areas of our 
forests with unspoiled and untrammeled wilderness qualities.
  Earlier this year, Congress passed by strong bipartisan margins the 
Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2008 (H.R. 146) which would 
provide wilderness protection to over 2 million acres of federal lands. 
Senator Nelson would be proud.
  The House has also passed legislation--Water Quality Investment Act--
reauthorizing the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program which is 
critical to clean water efforts because it helps pay for building and 
improving wastewater treatment facilities in our nation's communities.
  A number of other important pieces of legislation including a bill to 
address climate change and another to restore protections to our 
waterways granted by the Clean Water Act that have been undermined by 
various court rulings are pending.
  Our nation owes Senator Nelson a great deal of appreciation. As we 
celebrate Earth Day, let us renew our commitment as individuals and as 
a Congress to continuing to pursue policies that will ensure that our 
nation's air, water, and natural resources remain a priority and remain 
protected for future generations to come.

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