Bush touts environmental efforts

ASSOCIATED PRESS

President Bush pledged yesterday an “enduring national commitment” to expanding America’s wetlands and said his administration’s environmental efforts honor a strong legacy of conservation and stewardship.

Wetlands are one of America’s most important natural resources and expanding them is an important goal, Mr. Bush said in his weekly radio address, capping several days of touting his environmental record in appearances outside Washington.

A plan announced last week aims to restore, improve and protect at least 3 million acres of wetlands over the next five years.

“This new wetlands policy reflects an enduring national commitment, carried forward by both parties, to protecting the environment,” Mr. Bush said.

“In the past three decades, America has made great strides in honoring the ideal of conservation and living by high standards of stewardship. My administration’s environmental efforts uphold that legacy.”

Delivering the Democrats’ radio address, Rep. Mark Udall of Colorado criticized the administration for what he said were shortcomings in its environmental policies.

“We’ve done a lot under Democratic and Republican administrations to protect the environment in the last three decades, but today we are headed in the wrong direction,” he said. “Under President Bush, we have basically sold out our environment for the profit of the special interests.”

On clean air, Mr. Bush said he is building on the progress of the Clean Air Act of 1970 under which major air pollutants have been reduced by nearly half. His administration is implementing “smarter ways to raise standards and improve air quality,” he said.

The clean air interstate rule, based on the Clear Skies legislation sent to Congress last year, will reduce the major causes of ozone and fine particles by 70 percent, he said. The rule employs a market-based approach to reduce air pollution that crosses state borders.

A new rule also is being completed to remove sulfur from diesel fuels, and the administration is regulating mercury emissions from power plants for the first time ever, he said. Under the administration’s new proposal, mercury emissions will be cut by about 70 percent, the president said.

“All these rules are based on sound science and good economics,” he said, “and they will help every American breathe cleaner air.”

On land matters, Mr. Bush said he signed legislation two years ago to clean up more abandoned and polluted industrial sites, known as brownfields. Between 2001 and 2003, he said, his administration restored more than 1,000 brownfields to usable condition, more than were restored in the previous seven years.

The president said another critical environmental priority is healthy forests. He said the Healthy Forest Restoration Act he signed in December reduces the risk of fire, saves lives and property and improves the health of forests.

Critics, however, say the new forest law favors the timber industry, leaving old-growth trees and remote, roadless areas of forests at risk of logging, in the name of clearing brush to prevent wildfires.