[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6097]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                               EARTH DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I take this moment to acknowledge 
Earth Day. We have made great strides in protecting our treasures, 
protecting our natural resources, and in protecting our environment. 
So, Mr. Speaker, since the first Earth Day in 1970, Americans have 
found many ways to promote the preservation of our environment and to 
focus a great deal of attention on the work that is left to be done.
  Earth Day has always been a day to celebrate the environment and our 
natural heritage. It has also served to mark the importance of 
environmental protection and responsible living. As the leaders of this 
great Nation, we must collaborate in a bipartisan fashion to promote 
environmental policies that make sense to this country. We do not want 
to continue to drink water that is contaminated and polluted. We do not 
want to breathe smoke-filled air. We do not want to develop life-
threatening diseases from water, air, and other environmental hazards. 
Poor environmental management affects everyone, and environmental 
justice does, in fact, matter.
  We ask, how many children must develop lead poisoning before we get 
serious about that issue. Do we want the Nation's most precious animals 
to perish from the Earth? Do we want to live in neighborhoods that are 
surrounded by nuclear power plants? Do we want to breathe a thick layer 
of smog from contaminated air before we feel that a clean air policy is 
important? Will there come a time when we must go to the local grocery 
store and purchase bottled air?
  Many of our urban communities are currently in serious unrest due to 
many different environmental problems. Today we must make a new 
dedication toward bringing a more proper balance to the widening gap 
between community standards based upon their economic status. People in 
our poorest communities are struggling for environmental justice, from 
Louisiana's ``Cancer Alley'' to the Native American reservations' 
nuclear problems to the people along the border in the maquiladora 
region, and for the communities where I live on the south and west 
sides of Chicago.
  Furthermore, millions of people live in housing surrounded by 
physical environments that are overburdened with environmental problems 
and hazards untold, waste, toxins, dioxins, incinerators, petrochemical 
plants, polluted air and unsafe drinking water. These factors all 
combine to pose a real and grave threat to the future of our Nation's 
public health.
  So, as we mark the 31st anniversary of the first Earth Day, we glory 
in the progress that has been made, but must strive to continue to 
develop strong environmental policies that help protect our Earth.

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