August 6, 1992 PRESIDENT BUSH ON THE ENVIRONMENT "I am here to make a case I feel very strongly about -- and that is the case for a cleaner environment. It is a case based not only on our own health and safety, and not only on the obligation we have to future generations. It is based on the knowledge that successful economic development and environmental protection go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other." Vice President George Bush August 31, 1988 "Through our firm commitment and our substantial investment, we have improved significantly the quality of our air, land and water resources. The United States leads the world in environmental protection and we intend to keep it that way." President George Bush Earth Day 1990 Summary o Environmental protection is stronger than ever under the Bush Presidency, whether measured by pollution reduced, polluters punished, agreements reached, or Federal dollars targeted to addressing high priority environmental problems. o President Bush believes that environmental protection and economic development are inextricably linked -- environmental stewardship requires that policies in each area reflect this linkage. As the President has said on many occasions, sound policies promote both while compromising neither. o The President has more than doubled research and development of technologies that will boost both economic performance and environmental quality and has launched initiatives to link increased trade with stronger environmental protection. o The President has sponsored and implemented innovative, cost-effective programs that use the power of the marketplace to solve environmental problems. These include FACT SHEET -- ENVIRONMENT Page 2 programs such as "Green Lights" to promote energy efficiency, the "33/50" toxic waste reduction program, innovative clean air emissions credits, and "Cash-for- Clunkers" to get the most polluting cars off the road. o The President believes that existing environmental laws should be vigorously and firmly enforced. The Bush Administration has stepped up efforts to ensure that "the polluter pays" for environmental damage and has secured more indictments and fines than any previous Administration. o President Bush has provided substantial international leadership for environmental protection. Under President Bush, the U.S. has actively participated in nearly two dozen new environmental agreements. The President has successfully negotiated treaties and agreements such as those to protect the Antarctic, end driftnet fishing, and halt CFC production. o In 1990, President Bush called on Congress to elevate the Environmental Protection Agency to Cabinet status and thereby create the U.S. Department of the Environment. Despite widespread bipartisan support, Congress has not passed this bill. o In the President's FY93 budget, which freezes overall domestic discretionary spending, priority environmental investment is increased by $3.2 billion, or 21 percent. Since President Bush took office, EPA's operating program has increased by 54 percent. o The U.S. has some of the toughest environmental laws in the world and a record on environmental protection that is second to none in areas ranging from clean air to endangered species. The U.S. currently spends nearly $130 billion a year (about 2 percent of our GDP) on controlling pollution and protecting the environment, far more than any other nation. And the President is committed to doing more: "Some will look at the record and say that it isn't enough. I have a surprise for them. I couldn't agree more." President George Bush July 14, 1992 FACT SHEET -- ENVIRONMENT Page 3 Promoting Clean Air o President Bush proposed, negotiated, and then signed the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, the most comprehensive and innovative air pollution legislation in the world. -- The President's Clean Air Act will reduce toxic air emissions by over 75 percent, cut acid rain emissions in half, and significantly reduce smog in America's cities. -- When fully implemented, the Clean Air Act will reduce air pollutant emissions by 56 billion pounds annually, roughly 224 pounds of pollutants for every man, woman, and child in this country. -- The innovative system of tradable sulfur dioxide emissions credits in the Clean Air Act will provide the same cuts in emissions as old-style regulation, but they will save the U.S. economy over $1 billion annually. o The EPA will issue rules to reduce emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas, from landfills and will pursue several other methane reduction programs. In total, the Administration's strategy projects methane emission reductions equivalent to 25 to 58 million tons of carbon by the year 2000. o Under the Clean Air Act, oxygenated fuels must be sold in the most polluted areas of the U.S. by 1993 to reduce the carbon monoxide levels in cities where the levels are above our national standards. Alternative fuels and reformulated gasoline, to be introduced by 1995, will cut ozone-forming hydrocarbons by 300 million pounds per year. o The Bush Administration is working to increase the efficiency and use of alternative fuels. President Bush's National Energy Strategy encourages the use and production of natural gas through regulatory reform and promotes R&D to increase use of renewable sources of energy and ethanol. o The Administration has reached agreements with industry which will lead to a reduction in emissions of sulfur dioxide by 90 percent at the Navajo power plant in northern Arizona. This will provide cleaner air and improve visibility in the Grand Canyon. o The Administration's "Cash-for-Clunkers" plan would help remove old cars -- the biggest polluters and the biggest gas guzzlers -- from the road. FACT SHEET -- ENVIRONMENT Page 4 Global Climate Change o The United States is the only nation besides the Netherlands to have published a detailed action plan for limiting net greenhouse gas emissions. -- This action plan is projected to hold net emissions in the year 2000 to only 1 to 6 percent over 1990 levels. o President Bush favors greenhouse gas reduction plans individually tailored for each country -- arbitrary targets and timetables are inequitable, inefficient, and environmentally inferior. o In order to determine what should be done to address global climate change, the President's interdisciplinary Global Change Research Program (GCRP), begun in 1989, invests more in climate research -- $2.7 billion in the last three years -- than the rest of the world combined. -- This year President Bush's budget requested almost $1.4 billion for global climate change research, a 24 percent increase over last year. The President has accelerated research six-fold since 1989. -- As part of the GCRP, the Mission to Planet Earth uses satellites to monitor changes in the environment, recently providing data on the status of the stratospheric ozone layer and the effects of the eruption of Mount Pinatubo on the global climate. o The President proposed and implemented a new transportation law which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by improving automobile efficiency, increasing investment in public transportation, and developing other means of environmentally-friendly travel. o The President's National Energy Strategy contains numerous provisions to increase energy conservation and efficiency in transportation, industry, and electricity generation; in residential, commercial, and Federal government buildings; and to increase the use of improved energy technologies. These steps will further help reduce greenhouse emissions. o The United States and ten other countries of the Americas signed an agreement in May 1992 to establish the Inter- American Institute for Global Change Research. FACT SHEET -- ENVIRONMENT Page 5 o The U.S. has also committed $25 million for country studies to help developing countries formulate action plans to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The U.S. has committed to a supplemental contribution of $50 million to the World Bank's Global Facility to assist countries in implementing the Framework Convention on Global Climate Change. o At the Rio conference, the United States made available to governments and scientists around the world thousands of computer disks containing billions of bytes of data on global climate change. Protecting the Ozone Layer o In February 1992, President Bush accelerated the U.S. deadline for phaseout of ozone-depleting substances (including CFCs) to the end of 1995, four years ahead of international deadlines set in the amended Montreal Protocol, and called on other nations to match the U.S. commitment. The Clean Air Act of 1990 also includes a schedule for phase-out of HCFCs, which is not required under the provisions of the Montreal Protocol. o The Bush Administration implemented a fee on U.S. production of ozone-harming substances to accelerate reductions. Today, U.S. CFC production levels are more than 42 percent below the level allowed by the London amendments to the Montreal Protocol. o The United States was the first nation to provide funds to developing countries to help reduce CFCs. The U.S. will provide $50 million over three years to assist developing nations meet the terms of the Montreal Protocol. Enhancing Forests and Public Lands o At Home: President Bush has added over 1.5 million new acres to our treasury of national parks, forests, and wildlife refuges and added 6.4 million acres to the vast wilderness system. o The President's budget requests for his "America the Beautiful" initiative (including funds for improved stewardship of national parks, wildlife refuges, forest and public lands, and partnerships with states for parks and outdoor recreation), has grown from $863 million in 1989 to $1.8 billion in 1993. Unfortunately, Congress has refused to provide full funding for key components of this program. FACT SHEET -- ENVIRONMENT Page 6 o The Administration has ended clear-cutting as a standard practice in national forests and adopted the principles of "ecosystem management" for forests and other public lands. o The President has developed and begun implementing a long- term campaign to enlist state and local participation in the planting of one billion trees each year and to expand and improve national parks, forests, and wildlife. Congress has consistently shortchanged this initiative. o And Abroad: The President has proposed to double international forestry assistance through his Forests for the Future Initiative (which has as its goal halting net global forest loss by the end of the century) from $1.35 billion to $2.7 billion. The U.S. has already pledged a "down payment" of $150 million to this effort. -- Since 1988, total U.S. bilateral forest conservation assistance has increased by 156 percent. o At the Houston Economic Summit in 1990, President Bush proposed, and the G-7 Industrialized Nations adopted, a call for a global convention to protect and improve the world's forests. o The President's Enterprise for the Americas Initiative arranges debt-for-nature swaps and creates environmental trust funds to protect critical forest habitat in Latin America and the Caribbean. Preserving Wetlands o The President is committed to his goal of "no net loss of wetlands." At the same time, he seeks to balance this objective with the need to protect the legitimate rights of farmers, small businesses, and other landowners. o The President has more than doubled Federal spending for wetlands protection and restoration, from $295 million in FY89 to $600 million in FY92 and $812 million requested for FY93. o Since 1989, the Bush Administration, in conjunction with state and private partners, has acquired and conserved almost 2 million acres of wetlands. The Administration is expanding the Everglades National Park by 106,000 acres. o President Bush signed the North American Wetlands Conservation Act in which the United States, together with Canada and Mexico, helps protect migratory waterfowl FACT SHEET -- ENVIRONMENT Page 7 populations. The President has once again proposed $15 million to fully fund this North American Waterfowl Management Plan in FY93, but Congress refused to fund the plan in FY92 and cut the President's FY93 request in half. o The President has requested full funding for a voluntary "wetlands reserve" of up to one million acres as provided for in the 1990 Farm Bill, but Congress has not matched his funding request. o The U.S. currently chairs the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, the major agreement on wetlands conservation and wise use. The U.S. is the single largest contributor to the Convention's Wetland Conservation Fund, which assists developing countries in implementing the Convention. o The Administration supports expansion of wetlands protection under the Clean Water Act to cases in which wetlands may be damaged by dredging operations -- the present protection applies only when wetlands are filled. o The Bush Administration is developing a classification and mitigation banking plan to reconcile environmental and economic imperatives through an outright ban on development of the most ecologically important wetlands, while allowing some development in other areas provided that wetlands losses are offset through the creation and improvement of other wetlands. Protecting Endangered Species o President Bush is committed to the protection and conservation of wildlife. The Endangered Species Act is one of the strongest wildlife protection laws in the world. -- Since 1989, the Administration has completed recovery plans for more than 110 species, revised plans for more than 20 additional species, and expanded efforts to identify candidate species. -- Since taking office, the Bush Administration has more than doubled funding to protect endangered species. o The U.S. led the way to international bans on driftnet fishing and trade in African elephant ivory and hawksbill turtle shells. FACT SHEET -- ENVIRONMENT Page 8 o Since 1989, land management agencies have adopted many ecosystem management principles to do a better job of conserving species and habitats. o The U.S. Forest Service has adopted a program called "Every Species Counts" to recover and conserve over 200 Federally listed threatened and endangered species. The Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the National Fish and Wildlife Service are cooperating on a program called "Bring Back the Natives" to restore native plant and animal species in aquatic habitats. o The Department of Defense has taken over 100 separate actions on 80 military installations to identify and protect significant biological resources on DoD lands. o In preparation for the U.N. Earth Summit in Rio, the Bush Administration pledged to establish a national center for biodiversity information and to host a meeting of international experts to advise nations on how to conduct biodiversity inventories. o Spotted Owl: Perhaps no recent issue has demonstrated more clearly the stringency of U.S. law on endangered species, or the difficulty of balancing it with the economic costs to human beings, than the case of the northern spotted owl. o President Bush has sought to achieve a balance in developing a strategy to save the spotted owl and at the same time mitigate the economic costs to the Pacific Northwest. To this effect, the Administration has developed a "Preservation Plan" which will save half the jobs which would be lost under other plans, while still ensuring the owl's survival. o The President has submitted the Preservation Plan to Congress and hopes that Congress will consider both the economic and the environmental ramifications of the decision on the preservation of the spotted owl. o Florida Panther: The Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Florida Department of Natural Resources, and Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission are developing a habitat preservation plan for the existing Florida panther population (estimated to be 30-50 panthers). FACT SHEET -- ENVIRONMENT Page 9 Vigorous Enforcement o During the Bush Administration, more indictments have been sought; more civil, criminal, and administrative fines have been imposed; and more prison sentences for violators have been secured than in the prior 18 years combined. o The Bush Administration collected record monetary penalties for water pollution violations in 1991, tripling the previous record. o The Administration has filed landmark suits to protect the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Everglades. o The President's FY93 budget proposes to increase EPA enforcement funding by $15 million; the EPA enforcement budget has increased by 70 percent during President Bush's administration. International Leadership o During the Bush Presidency, nearly two dozen new international environmental agreements and initiatives have been launched with active U.S. participation. These agreements have ranged from the Montreal Protocol to end CFC production to successful efforts to halt driftnet fishing. o At the 1991 London Economic Summit, an environmental coalition issued a detailed scorecard on the environmental performance of seven leading industrial nations. The United States earned the highest score overall and top honors in 8 out of 10 categories. o In 1991, the U.S. signed far-reaching international agreements to prevent and clean up pollution, protect wildlife, and monitor more closely the Antarctic and the Arctic Ocean. o The Bush Administration has put together the U.S. - Asia Environmental Partnership, a long-term private sector initiative to bring government and business together to address environmental problems in the Asia-Pacific Region through education, information sharing, and loans for environmental improvement. o In 1990, President Bush supported the creation of the East European Environmental Center in Budapest, Hungary. Known throughout the region as the "Bush Center," it will build a community of private parties concerned with environmental FACT SHEET -- ENVIRONMENT Page 10 protection. The United States has already provided support for several local projects on matters such as pesticide disposal, removing lead from drinking water, and controlling powerplant emissions. o The Bush Administration, working with private U.S. interests, has established four energy efficiency centers in Eastern Europe to provide improved information to these countries to improve their energy efficiency programs and practices as they transform their economies to market-based programs. o The Administration has recently put in place the America's 21st Century Program to help Latin American countries introduce renewable energy technologies and the Assisting Deployment of Energy Practices and Technologies program to assist developing countries improve their procedures and technologies for supply and use of energy. o To assist developing countries reduce growth in greenhouse gas emissions, the Administration this year has announced added funding for the General Environment Facility of the World Bank, plus added funds to countries for improving their forest maintenance and restoration programs. Further, the U.S. will lead cooperative efforts with developing countries to help them identify their critical problems and available opportunities to deal with global climate and environmental issues. o At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) at Rio, President Bush expanded U.S. technical and financial assistance programs for environmental purposes; offered a bold initiative to improve protection of the world's forests; and promoted a brand of environmentalism that sees market-oriented economic development as the key to protecting the Earth. o In conjunction with his efforts to conclude a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), President Bush is pursuing an ambitious program of cooperation with Mexico on a wide range of environmental issues. -- The United States and Mexico have developed an integrated border environmental plan to protect environmental quality in the border area. -- The Bush Administration has committed $138 million in FY92 to help protect the border environment and has requested $241 million for FY93. Unfortunately, Congress has cut the President's request. FACT SHEET -- ENVIRONMENT Page 11 -- The Mexican government has budgeted $460 million for the first three years of the plan. -- The United States and Mexico are negotiating an agreement to expand cooperation enforcement and environmental protection programs beyond the border area. Coastal and Ocean Stewardship o The President wants to ensure that coasts and oceans continue to receive necessary attention. Almost half of the U.S. population lives and works in coastal areas. o The Bush Administration has designated four new marine sanctuaries (the marine equivalent of national parks), more than doubling the area of these sanctuaries, and has protected six new estuarine reserve access areas where rivers meet the sea. He has also tripled the protection of coastal barrier islands to encompass 1,211 miles of shoreline. o President Bush declared a moratorium until the year 2000 on offshore oil and gas development off most of the West Coast, Southern Florida, and New England. o In 1990, the President signed the Oil Spill Pollution Act, which requires double hulls on new tankers, creates a $1 billion cleanup trust fund, and increases polluter liability and enforcement tools. o At the Paris G-7 Summit in 1989, President Bush offered proposals that resulted in 1991 in the 80-nation Convention on Oil Spill Preparedness and Response. o The President budgeted new funds for the Gulf of Mexico and increased funding for the Chesapeake Bay and the Great Lakes to improve water quality and to stop coastal degradation. o The President secured consent agreements from several states to ban ocean dumping of sewage sludge and industrial wastes. All ocean sludge dumping has been halted as of June 1992. The Bush Administration also established a pilot tracking system to prevent the dumping of medical waste. o The U.S. led successful U.N. efforts to halt driftnet fishing, a highly destructive fishing technique that results in large, wasteful takes of marine mammals, seabirds, and other living marine resources. FACT SHEET -- ENVIRONMENT Page 12 Providing Clean Water o The President has secured increased funding to clean up those harbors which have the largest unmet sewage treatment needs: Boston, New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle and Baltimore. o The first, second, and fourth largest penalties for violations of the Clean Water Act were secured in 1991, reflecting vigorous enforcement initiatives. o The President's FY93 budget includes $2.5 billion for wastewater treatment grants, a $100 million increase over FY92. o In 1991, the Administration issued a new regulation to reduce lead, copper, and other harmful substances in our drinking water, based on a standard that is ten times more stringent than the previous standard, actions which will give 138 million Americans cleaner drinking water. o In 1991, the Administration issued a strategy to develop groundwater protection programs emphasizing adoption of environmentally friendly agricultural practices to reduce the general risk of groundwater contamination. o The Bush Administration launched a major new National Water Quality Assessment Program addressing such topics as pesticides, excess nutrients, and sediments. Increasing Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy o The U.S. leads efforts to find cost-effective, market-based methods for improving energy conservation and efficiency. The Bush Administration's promotion of utility integrated resource planning and the "Green Lights" program provide information and incentives to encourage the use of energy- efficient products. o President Bush's National Energy Strategy (NES), first presented to Congress in the spring of 1991, is a comprehensive strategy that includes equal measures of increased energy efficiency and production. -- The President's program encourages greater use of natural gas through regulatory reform and increased research and development. Natural gas releases fewer pollutants than other fossil fuels. FACT SHEET -- ENVIRONMENT Page 13 -- The President has proposed $900 million in next year's budget for research and development under the Strategy, twice as much funding as when he took office. -- The President supports a new generation of safer nuclear power through increased research and development of safer designs, licensing reforms, public education, and responsible waste management. o The President has increased funding 67% for the development of renewable energy sources including hydroelectric, biofuels, wind, geothermal, solar and waste-to-energy facilities. o The President supports full funding of the Federal and industry cost-shared Clean Coal Technology Demonstration Program which demonstrates modern technologies to use our abundant coal resources more cleanly and efficiently. o President Bush has directed Federal agencies to maximize their purchases of cleaner running alternative fuels vehicles. The government has already purchased over 3,000 such vehicles and plans to acquire 5,000 more in FY93. o President Bush has ordered Federal agencies to reduce energy use in Federal buildings 20 percent below 1985 levels by 2000 and reduce gasoline and diesel use 10 percent below 1991 levels by 1995. o The NES encourages state and utility efforts to treat investment in energy efficiency as an alternative to new power plants and provides tax-free treatment of utility discounts on consumers' electricity bills for efficiency investments. o The Administration has issued rules for improved efficiency standards for energy-consuming home appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines. o The Department of Energy has entered into a four-year, $260 million partnership with the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium, a coalition of U.S. automakers and electric utilities, to develop improved batteries that will accelerate the commercialization of non-polluting electric vehicles. o The Administration is working in partnership with U.S. industry to develop improved manufacturing processes that are more efficient and produce less waste, improving productivity and competitiveness. FACT SHEET -- ENVIRONMENT Page 14 Waste Reduction, Recycling and Disposal o In 1990, the Administration adopted a waste management hierarchy that gives priority to source reduction and reuse, followed by recycling and composting, incineration with energy recovery, and environmentally-sound landfilling. o The Bush Administration has made pollution prevention, which is preferable to cleanup, one of its basic environmental principles. The EPA Office of Pollution Prevention reviews all relevant regulatory proposals and requires EPA offices to consider pollution prevention measures early in its rule- making process. Pollution prevention incentives have been established for land, water, and air pollution. o President Bush has sought international implementation of the Basel Convention, which outlaws the dumping and uncontrolled export of hazardous wastes to developing countries. The United States now has bilateral agreements established with all countries receiving U.S. hazardous waste to assure that the receiving country will properly recycle or dispose of the waste. o In 1991 President Bush ordered all Federal agencies to implement waste reduction and recycling programs and to increase purchases of items made from recycled materials. The White House complex began recycling aluminum cans and newspapers in 1990 and added white waste paper in 1991. o The Administration's "33/50" project encourages voluntary industrial reductions of 17 high-priority toxic wastes -- 33 percent reduction by 1992 and 50 percent by 1995. To date, over 750 companies and the Departments of Energy and Defense have committed to the program and will cut toxic pollutants by almost 350 million pounds. o The Administration has tripled the rate of toxic waste site cleanups since 1989. Final cleanup is now underway or complete at over 500 Superfund sites around the country. Congress has consistently cut the President's requests for Superfund cleanups and has yet to provide his original (FY90) request of $1.7 billion. o The President has worked at the national and international levels to eliminate hazardous waste. Toxic releases to the environment have fallen 26 percent since 1988. FACT SHEET -- ENVIRONMENT Page 15 Federal Facilities Cleanup and Compliance o The Administration has made significant progress in meeting the requirements of environmental laws and in cleaning up the Nation's defense facilities. Since 1989, the Department of Energy's budget for environmental restoration and compliance activities has risen from $1.7 billion to a level of $4.3 billion. Proposed funding in FY93 is $5.3 billion - - a 23 percent increase over 1992. o The Administration has established enforceable agreements with the EPA and state regulators which contain detailed requirements and aggressive schedules for conducting specific environmental compliance and cleanup activities. A total of 84 agreements have been established to date and an additional 27 are under negotiation. o President Bush also has supported an aggressive national program within the Department of Energy for the development and implementation of innovative waste-management technologies. An integral element of this initiative is the establishment of partnerships and consortiums with commercial and educational organizations to support cooperative research initiatives and information sharing. o The United States has made additional progress in the study of disposal options for radioactive waste. In 1991, the Department of Energy announced that the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico was ready to begin a test phase to determine the suitability of the underground facility for waste disposal. Encouraging Private Sector Participation o Last year, President Bush selected 25 executives of major business, academic, and environmental groups to form the President's Commission on Environmental Quality. The Commission's charge is to develop and pursue an environmental improvement agenda using private sector initiatives that integrate environmental, economic, and quality-of-life goals. o The Commission has fostered relationships between the business and nonprofit communities to collaborate on solutions to pressing environmental problems of concern to all Americans. Initiatives include: -- Pollution prevention initiatives to reduce waste in the workplace and encourage more efficient and cost effective manufacturing and production. FACT SHEET -- ENVIRONMENT Page 16 -- A voluntary program to encourage energy efficiency in businesses and homes, reducing energy waste and increasing consumer savings. -- A national program to improve understanding about the hazards of lead and thus reduce lead poisoning in young children. -- Working with the U.S. Environmental Training Institute, a public-private sector program developed by the Bush Administration to assist professionals from developing countries with their environmental protection efforts. -- Partnerships to reconcile economic uses of land with greater conservation of biodiversity. o Today, more EPA regulations are being written with input from diverse interests early in the process to reduce the likelihood of costly litigation and regulatory delay down the road. But efforts to protect the environment also depend on greater voluntary private sector initiatives. o President Bush has initiated development of the Technology Cooperation Corps with the collaboration and participation of representatives of U.S. businesses to share U.S. know-how and expertise in environmental management and technology. Rewarding Environmental Accomplishment o Rewarding exemplary environmental achievement is very important to President Bush. Last year he gave the first- ever President's Environment and Conservation Challenge Awards to nine organizations and Presidential Citations for environmental achievement to an additional 23 organizations. All award recipients had found innovative and economical solutions to the Nation's environmental challenges. o President Bush has also encouraged environmental awareness on the part of young people. Recently, ten Environmental Youth Award winners (from grades K-12) were honored for their efforts in helping to find solutions to today's and tomorrow's environmental challenges. The winners met with the President. # # #