Kerry vows coastal protection, slams Bush

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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, with Tampa Bay as a backdrop, pledged yesterday to toughen beach and coastal protections while contending that protecting the environment improves the economy and creates jobs.

"We don't have to choose between having a job and protecting the environment. It can go hand in hand," the Massachusetts senator said. "These are jobs. What we need to recognize is that being responsible about the environment is not some goo-goo, do-gooder, silly notion that you embrace once a year on Earth Day."

Mr. Kerry opened a three-day campaign swing ahead of tomorrow's Earth Day commemorations with a roundtable discussion with volunteers who have worked to clean the bay.

He said he would create monitoring programs for beaches, increase enforcement of runoffs that pollute the ocean, and increase spending for cleanup efforts.

"This bay today is cleaner than it has been in the past because there were people who came together and fought to make it that way," Mr. Kerry said.

He accused President Bush of slashing funding for sewage-treatment plant construction and other efforts to control runoff along the nation's coasts.

"In three short years, this president has put the brakes on 30 years of environmental progress," Mr. Kerry said. "They're using the same tired, old argument that you can't have a clean environment if you want a strong economy. Well, they're wrong. You can have both."

The Bush administration uses "empty slogans" to mask environmental degradation, Mr. Kerry said.

"The truth is, our air is more polluted today and getting more polluted, our water in many places is getting more polluted," he said.

Steve Schmidt, a spokesman for the Bush campaign, said the president has a strong environmental record ranging from cleaning polluted industrial sites to toughening clean-air requirements.

"John Kerry's attacks are typical of the relentless negativity that's dominated his campaign," Mr. Schmidt said. "He's not offered a plan today, he's offered a political attack. That's in stark contrast to the president's positive record."