Environmental Overview
What accomplishments or experiences would you cite as influences on your approach to environmental or conservation issues? These may be professional or personal.
“I have a long-standing commitment to the environment through my work for children and their health. These are the passions that drive my interest in reducing pollution and taking care of our planet. As First Lady, I focused on the environmental effects on children’s health and worked with Senator Boxer to propose the Children’s Environmental Protection Act, a bill to require the government to set health and safety standards at levels that protect children. Serving on the Environment committee during my time in the Senate has deepened my focus on environmental issues and given me the opportunity to advance legislation. I am proud of my work to stand up to the Bush Administration’s many efforts to weaken environmental laws. And I am proud to have worked to pass the Brownfields Reduction and Revitalization Act, which helps towns and cities to clean up and redevelop contaminated sits; the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, which helps to reduce pollution from school buses and other diesel engines; the Disaster Area Health and Environmental Monitoring Act, to monitor exposure to hazardous substances in disaster areas; and the Long Island Sound Stewardship Act to better protect this nationally important estuary. As President I will continue my work to better protect human health and the environment.”
Global Warming & Energy priorities for first 100 days
As you know, a common rubric for measuring the results of a new presidential administration is to evaluate priorities for its first 100 days in office. The League of Conservation Voters believes that the one issue area voters will be most focused on, when it comes to the environment, is energy and global warming. If you are sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, what will be your priorities in the energy and global warming arena for your first 100 days in office, and why? These may be achievable by executive action, legislative action, international action, or appointments.
“Energy independence and global warming are top priorities that I continually discuss on the campaign trail, and I will focus on them in my first months in office. I will use executive orders to restore federal leadership in energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy. I will realign budget priorities to bolster research and development programs that can help to reduce oil dependence and greenhouse gas emissions. I will nominate committed, highly qualified people to run the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and other related Departments. I will promote legislation to promote alternative energy, and I will personally act to restore American leadership in international discussions about global warming.”
Please respond to the previous question but focus on environmental issues outside of the energy and global warming arena.
“There are many important environmental issues beyond global warming, and there is much work to be done. The Bush Administration reversed decades of bipartisan consensus and progress on the environment by using executive action to weaken environmental safeguards in clean air laws, clean water laws, and laws protecting our public lands. The Bush Administration issued regulations that allow power plants to emit more mercury pollution; they changed rules to allow discharge of untreated sewage; and they weakened protections established by the Clinton Administration for the most pristine areas of our national forests. I will use the first 100 days to begin undoing this damage by restoring these and other key environmental protections that have been under assault.”
Priority compared to other issues for first 100 days
Many candidates for office, not just for president, intend or promise to do great things on many issues. How would you say environmental or conservation issues would rank as a priority for you in your first 100 days when compared to other issues? Why? Do you intend to personally attend to these issues?
“Environmental issues such as energy independence and global warming are among my top priorities, and I will personally attend to them as President. I believe we face a daunting crisis in global warming – one that could bring cataclysmic results and we need to act as a nation. One of my priorities will be promoting alternative energy through a Strategic Energy Fund. I believe we must develop clean energy technologies and jobs here in the United States. For the sake of our economy, our national security, and the health of our planet, we simply cannot afford further delays, and I will get to work immediately on these issues.”
http://presidentialprofiles2008.org/Clinton/tab1.html
Donate to your President hopeful,donations over $100 will receive a free gift.
