[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 22824]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                            THE ENVIRONMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 12, 2000

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, for me, three key issues that we must as a 
community and a nation address are environmental justice, sprawl and 
livability, and the need to protect California's and the country's 
ecosystems.
  All three of these issues are linked to a crucial concern that is 
very much on Americans' minds right now: energy.
  Rising oil prices and falling home fuel oil supplies both point out 
one clear, absolute fact: fossil fuels represent a limited and 
gradually disappearing resource.
  We need to address this problem today.
  The answer to our oil problem does not lie in pillaging the Arctic 
National Wildlife Refuge, a precious, fragile, and unique ecosystem.
  It does not lie in keeping current lax standards for gas mileage.
  It does not lie in denying the basic fact that our planet is growing 
warmer and that the burning of fossil fuels is a significant factor in 
global warming.
  It does not lie in polluting our soil, our water, our air, and our 
children with toxins.
  The answers have to lie in conservation and innovation.
  One answer is to raise the corporate average fuel economy standards 
across the board: Detroit can build more efficient cars; we need to 
increase the incentives to buy them and increase the disincentives to 
use gasoline wastefully.
  California is leading the way in promoting greater fuel efficiency 
and searching for alternative energy technologies.
  We need to work toward fuel cells, hybrid cars, and other alternative 
technologies.
  We need to invest in mass transit. It will cost money but the 
dividends in reduced pollution, increased conservation, and reduced 
sprawl will be far greater than the initial price tags.
  And we need to undertake these efforts today.
  Our environment depends on it and in the long run so does our 
economy.

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