[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: GEORGE W. BUSH (2001, Book I)]
[April 24, 2001]
[Pages 447-448]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 447]]

Remarks to the Environmental Youth Award Winners
April 24, 2001

    Thank you all very much. It's my honor to be here. First, Christie 
Todd, you're doing a great job. I knew 
I was going to pick--I knew she was going to do a great job when I 
picked her. I didn't realize how good. And she really is--I'm proud to 
have her on my team.
    I want to thank the parents who are here. I know it's a proud moment 
for you, and it should be. It means you've done your job. I always like 
to remind folks who are lucky enough to have a child, the most important 
job you'll ever have is to love your children and to be a good mom and 
dad. I want to thank the sponsors who are here, and I look forward to 
thanking you all personally after this brief speech. [Laughter] Please 
don't break out in applause. [Laughter]
    The Congress is back, and it's good to see three fine Members of the 
Congress here. I thank you guys for coming, Zach Wamp of Tennessee, Mark Kirk of 
Illinois, and Wally Herger of California. Thank 
you guys for being here. I know you're here to represent your 
constituents, and I know you're proud of your constituents, just like we 
are, as well.
    But most particularly, I want to thank the winners. I had the 
opportunity of having my picture taken with the winners, and it looks 
like I might have a chance to have a few more after this is over. 
[Laughter] Right, guy? [Laughter]
    For three decades now, the Environmental Protection Agency has 
helped to carry out our national commitment to the wise care of the 
environment. The agency has worked with many private citizens who 
understand that each have a duty to be good stewards of the land and 
life around us. And that's what we're honoring today.
    Interesting thing is, is that we're honoring youngsters. You would 
think that the old folks would be the ones leading the charge in America 
and many places. But it's our young who are doing so, particularly when 
it comes to cleaning up the environment, and for that we're grateful. It 
really does speak to a great future for America, I think.
    And rather than going through all the impressive accomplishments, 
just like Christie Todd did, I do 
want to talk a little bit about good environmental policy. It starts 
with a commitment. And my administration has a commitment to clean air 
and clean water and good soils.
    Laura and I are fortunate enough to own a ranch in central Texas. I 
like to remind everybody that if you own your own land, every day is 
Earth Day. If you live off the land--the people who care more about that 
than the people who live off the land--the reason I bring that up is 
because I want--a good policy understands the proper role of the Federal 
Government. The proper role of the Federal Government is to set high 
standards, to set goals, but it's to work with local folks to achieve 
those goals.
    Not all wisdom is in Washington, DC, as witnessed by what took place 
up here. All of us in Washington don't have all of the answers to all of 
the problems. Our job is to work in a collaborative way with people at 
the local level. As Christie Todd said, we'll fund more, and we will.
    We've got money in our budget to fully fund the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund for the first time. It says we'll work with local 
folks to set aside lands that need to be protected.
    We've got money in our budgets to repair the national parks. Here, 
the Federal Government is talking about a clean world and a clean 
environment, and yet we're not even keeping our own parks; we're not 
fulfilling our own responsibilities. It seems

[[Page 448]]

like to me, if we want to set a good example for the rest of the 
country, we've got to take care of what we're--over which we're in 
charge. And we're going to do so at the Federal level.
    We've got some regulatory policy in place that makes sense. But it 
says we're going to make decisions based upon sound science, not some 
environmental fad or what may sound good--that we're going to rely upon 
the best of evidence before we decide. Ours is a policy that truly 
believes that technologies have advanced to the point where we can have 
economic growth and sound environmental policy go hand in hand.
    Oh, there's a lot of talk recently about energy. And for those of 
you in California, you know we need more energy. For those of you who 
are living in the biggest State in our Union, who have suffered 
blackouts--and some of us think there may be more blackouts coming--
we've got to come up with an energy policy for America. But I firmly 
believe we can do so and protect the environment.
    The whole world doesn't have to be zero-sum. It doesn't have to be 
that, you know, we find more energy and, therefore, the environment 
suffers. You see, we've got technologies available now to make sure that 
we explore and protect the environment at the same time, and we need to 
do that. We need to be good stewards of the land. But we've also got to 
understand, if we don't bring more natural gas to the markets, we're 
going to have blackouts. We've also got to understand, in order to power 
the power-generating plants that are now being built in California, we 
need more energy.
    And I want to assure the young up here that this is an 
administration committed to good, sound policy. And it's an 
administration that firmly believes that the technologies are developed 
to the point where we can be good stewards of the land and, at the same 
time, bring the energy to market that we need. We'll base decisions on 
sound science. We'll call upon the best minds of America to help us 
achieve an objective, not only here at home but around the world, which 
is: cleaner air, cleaner water, and better use of our land.
    It's such a wonderful inspiration to see the young of America 
standing up here who are setting a good example for all of us. And so, 
on behalf of our Government and the American people, I want to 
congratulate the winners, their parents, and their sponsors.
    God bless you all, and God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 3:15 p.m. in the State Dining Room at the 
White House. In his remarks, he referred to Environmental Protection 
Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman.