***** Reformatted. Please distribute CLINTON/GORE ON PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT For all its rhetoric, the Bush Administration has been an environmental disaster. The President has ignored the threat of global warming and the depletion of the Earth's ozone layer, undermined enforcement of the Clean Air Act, supported drilling in Alaska's precious Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, abandoned his "no net loss" wetlands policy, and opposed efforts to increase recycling. The united States ought to lead the world in fighting for environmental protection, but George Bush has been dragging his feet abroad and ignoring his promises at home. It's time for a change. Bill Clinton and Al Gore will give America a real environmental protection is fundamental to America's national security - and that we must reject Bush Administration attempts to force a false choice between environmental protection and economic growth. A Clinton/Gore Administration will challenge Americans and demand responsibility at every level - from individuals and families to corporations and government agencies - to do more to preserve our world. Four goals: * Reduce solid and toxic waste, and air and water pollution to ensure we leave our nation cleaner and healthier. * Preserve places of natural beauty and ecological importance - such as our national parks, wilderness areas, old-growth forests, and wetlands - so that we can pass on America's natural splendor to our children. * Shatter the false choice between environmental protection and economic growth by creating a market- based environmental protection strategy that rewards conservation and "green" business practices while penalizing polluters. * Exert international leadership to advance our won nation's interest in a healthier global environment, a stable global climate, and global biodiversity. Reduce American and worldwide use of fossil fuels and airborne chemicals that destroy the ozone layer and work to keep our world's delicate environment in balance. Reduce pollution and solid waste * Create and expand markets for recycled products by providing revenue - neural tax incentives which favor the use of recycled materials whenever possible. * Create a solid waste reduction program which gives credits to companies that recover a portion of waste they generate and penalizes companies that fail to do so. Less efficient companies would be forced to buy waste credits form more efficient companies, creating a strong profit incentive for reducing solid waste. * Pass a new Clean Water Act with standards for "non- point-source" pollution and incentives for our firms, farmers, and families to develop ways to reduce and prevent polluted run-off at its source; launch a national education campaign to encourage all citizens to drastically reduce their contributions to "non-point- source" pollution made by household chemicals, lawn products, and pesticides. * Reform and ensure proper enforcement of the EPA Superfund so that taxpayer money goes toward cleaning up toxic waste instead of paying legal bills. Currently, almost half of all federal Superfund appropriations go to pay lawyers' fees - while 22,000 Superfund sites threaten the health of citizens and communities across America. * Support legislation that allows ordinary citizens to sue federal agencies that ignore environmental laws and regulations designed to preserve our environment - so government bureaucrats are made accountable for proper and effective environmental law enforcement. * Support efforts to mandate public reporting on toxic chemicals used and produced by companies, and require those companies to develop plans for reducing their toxic chemical use. * Crack down on environmental crime by holding companies and polluters responsible for their behavior. Corporations that deliberately violate environmental laws will pay the price - and polluters will be sent to jail where appropriate. Preserve America's natural beauty and key resources * Preserve our ancient forests for their scientific and ecological importance. * Make the "no net loss" wetlands pledge a reality; base wetlands policy on science instead of politics by working with the National Academy of Sciences and other members of the scientific community to devise appropriate policies. Our wetlands act as a natural filter for much of the water America drinks, and make up one of our most important and fragile natural habitats. * Rededicate the agencies that manage our national parks and wilderness lands to a true conservation ethic; expand our efforts to acquire new parklands and recreational sites with funds already available under the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. * Designate as a wilderness area the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and stop the crusade for new offshore drilling. Use market forces to encourage environmental protection * Place greater emphasis on preventing and reducing pollution before it happens, so we won't have to spend so much on cleaning it up after the fact. We can do that without big bureaucracies and public spending - by harnessing market forces, integrating environmental incentives into daily production decisions of big firms, and making polluters pay. * Harness market forces to reward consumers and businesses that conserve, and penalize polluters and inefficient energy users. * Create revenue-neutral tax incentives to encourage the use of alternative fuels like natural gas, and renewable energy sources like hydro-electricity, solar power, and wind power, Exert American leadership for a healthier world * Provide real international leadership to protect the world's delicate environmental balance. * Limit U.S. carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000 and accelerate the phase-out of substances that deplete the ozone layer. * Call on major banks and multinational institutions to negotiate debt-for-nature swaps that allow developing nations to reduce their crippling debt burdens by setting aside precious lands. * Restore U.S. funding for the United Nations' population stabilization efforts, and allow U.S. foreign aid to support international family planning services. * Explore partnerships and joint ventures with developing countries to preserve and protect rainforests while accelerating important medical and agricultural research and development. Improve energy efficiency * Accelerate our progress toward more fuel-efficient cars, and raise the CARE standards for automakers to 40-45 miles per gallon. * Increase U.S. reliance on natural gas - which is inexpensive, clean-burning and abundant, and can reduce carbon dioxide emissions - by issuing an executive order to purchase natural gas-powered vehicles for the federal automobile fleet, following Texas' lead. * Invest more in the development of renewable energy sources; encourage the use of new energy sources like wind and solar power, and new methods to make better use of the resources we already have. * Stop spending 60 percent of the Department of Energy's budget on nuclear weapons, with nuclear power and fossil fuels receiving most of the rest. * Convert some of our Cold War military spending to civilian purposes, like funding light rail systems, which can speed travel, save fuel, and provide transportation and regulating utilities. * Sustain efforts to improve the efficiency of coal operations through development and use of clean coal technologies. The Record Natural resources * Arkansas received 14 Environmental Excellence Awards from Region 6 of the Environmental Protection Agency in July 1992 for wastewater pretreatment and treatment programs; for non-point source treatment programs; for recycling, waste reduction and solid waste management programs. * Arkansas is one of only a few states meeting all federal standards under the Clean Air Act. * In 1988 Arkansas developed what are considered to be some of the most progressive water quality standards in the nation. These regulations prevent point source pollution in the highest quality waters of the state - those streams, rivers and lakes that have high recreational, scenic, and habitat values. One-hundred percent of Arkansas' lakes have been determined to be fishable and swimmable. To address Arkansas' most serious water quality problem, nonpoint pollution by animal wastes, Governor Clinton created a task force which has approved new management requirements and is developing additional legislation for the next session. * Bill Clinton was endorsed by the Sierra Club in 1990. * Arkansas has been ranked in the top ten states for efforts in wetlands protection and energy research. * Governor Clinton helped create the Plant the Future program which aims to plant an additional 10 million trees each for 10 years, and to establish a "no net loss" policy for forest land. * Encouraged the State Department of Education to emphasize environmental issues in all aspects of the curriculum. An Environmental Education Trust Fund also was created in 1991 at the Department of Pollution control and Ecology. * Expanded Protected Lands. Since 1983, 31 new natural areas have been added to the state's System of Natural Areas, three state parks have been established, four new wildlife management areas have been created, and 30 separate tracts of land have been added to the state park system. The Natural and Cultural Resource Trust Fund, established by Clinton in 1987, provides about $3 million a year to protect natural areas and restore historic structures. * In 1985 received the President's Public Service Award from the Nature Conservancy for "being a creative leader over the last six years in Arkansas land preservation work." * Created a state Land Bank, providing an initial $1 million to preserve natural areas, purchase state park lands and wildlife management areas, and establish the Arkansas Natural and Rivers Commission. Arkansas has been ranked among the top 10 sates for efforts in wetland protection and energy research spending. * Senator Gore strengthened the Clean Air Act of 1990 to increase monitoring of carbon dioxide emissions and prevent polluters from establishing "dead zones" around sources of pollution that remove people but not pollution. * Senator Gore was a leader in the successful efforts to kill provisions that would have allowed drilling in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife refuge. Solid Waste * Governor Clinton banned the disposal of batteries, unshredded tires, and yard wastes in landfills. He required the state to expand its purchasing of recycled materials, and has established a goal of recycling 25% of the state's solid waste by 1995 and 40% by the year 2000. * Established trust funds for recycling grants and waste tire management. * Created two new divisions at the Department of Pollution Control and Ecology, a Recycling Division and a Marketing Board for recyclables. Finally, state law now mandates that every Arkansan shall have an opportunity and place to recycle. * In 1980, the U.S. EPA and the State of Arkansas identified 314 open dumps int the state; since then, Governor Clinton pushed through a measure to give the state authority to deny operating permits to companies with bad environmental records in this and other states. Increased criminal penalties and doubled civil penalties for violating the state's environmental laws and regulations. Senator Gore wrote legislation to encourage recycling and strengthen markets for recycled products by providing tax incentives for the purchase of "re-manufacturing" equipment and by strengthening markets for recycled products. Hazardous waste * Governor Clinton helped establish a hazardous waste program among the first approved by the EPA and later used as a model by the National Governor's Association. * Passed a Chemical Right-to-Know law: Clinton helped create the right of public employees to know about hazardous chemicals in the workplace. * Empowered Citizens: Clinton put more citizen control into the state Pollution Control and Ecology commission, and passed a law declaring that any lawsuit settlement which restricts a person's right to disclose the existence of an environmental hazard is contrary to public policy and void. * Senator Gore authored the"Environmental Justice Act" to confront the "environmental racism" that puts minorities in low-income communities at excessive risk from environmental threats. The legislation would identify the most threatened communities and target assistance - including health surveys and community grants - to people in those communities. * Sponsored legislation which prohibits "back-hauling," a practice in which trucks carrying hazardous material in one direction are loaded with food products for return trips, often with inadequate cleanup form hazardous loads. * Cosponsored the original Superfund Act which now is law. It resulted from hearings chaired by Senator Gore which revealed illegal dumping of billions of pounds of hazardous chemical waste. * Sponsored an amendment passed in the Senate's 1992 Energy Bill to accelerate government efforts to procure the most energy efficient products. The amendment also provides grant money to states for energy efficiency and conservation initiatives. * Led efforts to retain funding in the 1991 Interior Bill for research and development joint ventures designed to improve the use of solar and other renewable forms of energy. * Authored a provision of the Clean Air Act that would prioritize energy efficiency in urban planning and transportation efficiency. Global Leadership * Senator Gore authored, introduced, and gained passage of a resolution stating that Antarctica would be preserved as a global ecological commons. Republican, Democrats and leaders around the world have embraced the proposal. * As Chairman of the U.S. Senate Delegation to the Earth Summit, Senator Gore worked to secure meaningful measures to protect the global environment. He has led efforts to initiate and support programs to arrest global warming, protect the earth's forests and oceans, enhance biodiversity, and conserve resources. * Sponsored the creation of the Strategic Environment Program, which promotes cooperation between military and civilian scientists and researchers to advance efforts to understand the global environment. Gore also sparked efforts that for the first time will make available to civilian scientists data about the earth collected by U.S. intelligence agencies. * Gained Senate passage of a measure to speed the phase- out of ozone-depleting chemicals, forcing the Bush administration to finally act in accordance with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.