Environmental Protection
Superfund
After several environmental disasters in the late 1970's public outcry demanded government action to clean up toxic waste sites. I cosponsored the bill that established the Superfund program in 1980 and supported legislation for additional funding in 1985. This fund is part of a law which requires the Environmental Protection Agency to identify the nation's most dangerous waste sites and gives the agency power to force those responsible to undertake a cleanup.
As of January 7, 1998 there were 1,243 proposed or finalized sites on the National Priorities List for superfund cleanups. Nevertheless, 2,100 sites throughout the nation, including Vermont, still need attention. Problems that need to be addressed include limiting expensive litigation, determining liability, implementing an environmentally effective and cost effective clean-up plan, and strengthening the role for the communities that must live with Superfund sites in the future.
Takings Legislation
Bills introduced during the 106th Congress, H.R. 2372 and S.246, give developers greater rights than a homeowner or community. These two bills take a dangerous turn by increasing federal involvement in local decisions. As a former State's Attorney in Vermont, the last thing I want to see is a large developer dragging a small town into federal court over a local land use decision.
I oppose what Congressional leaders are calling "property rights" legislation. I find it ironic that this Congress, which prides itself on shifting power away from Washington, would support a bill that would force federal laws over local rights. Some of the groups who join with me to oppose this takings legislation include: 40 state attorneys general, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities, the Judicial Conference of the United States, the Department of Justice, the National Governors Association, the National Audubon Society, and the National Wildlife Federation.
Clean Air Act
Vermont has made overwhelming progress toward cleaner air since the 1970 Clean Air Act. The levels of lead in the air have declined by more than 99% and are currently well below federal air standards. Carbon dioxide levels have dropped by more than 50% and sulphur dioxide has declined by about 40% since 1970. Although Vermont has had considerable success in cleaning up our air, there are many changes taking place that could affect us such as utility deregulation, international negotiations on climate change and ever improving technology for renewable energy.
I have been involved in several legislative battles concerning clean air, most importantly my fight to end the loophole in clean air law that currently allows irresponsible power producers to operate 1950's era power plants with four to ten times the pollutant emissions of newer, responsible plants. I have also championed legislation that will significantly reduce the amount of mercury emitted into the atmosphere from coal-fired power plants and others. I have created a special section on my web site (see my Clean Air Web Page) to discuss both of these important clean air issues in more detail.
Climate Change
In December of 1997, delegates from 150 nations gathered in Kyoto, Japan for the environmental summit on "global warming." Global warming is a concern of many scientists who have recorded increases in heat-trapping "greenhouse gases" in the earth's atmosphere -- most of which come from human activity such as burning fossil-fuels.
The Kyoto meeting allowed concerned world leaders, including Vice President Al Gore, to come together and discuss how the world's industrial nations could best address, and mitigate, their potentially-damaging greenhouse gas emissions.The Kyoto meeting was sparked by an influential 1995 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a non-partisan scientific panel of over 2000 top researchers. The IPCC reported that current data and climate models led them to believe that average global temperature could rise between 2 and 6 degrees Fahrenheit in the next thirty years. Many scientists have argued that the results of this rapid climate change could include increased flooding, disease, and severe weather disturbances as well as higher sea level around the globe.
The U.S. signed the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. However, congressional ratification of the document remains contentious in the U.S. Congress and, unfortunately, we have yet to officially adopt the Kyoto agreement guidelines. Regardless, I am committed to the pursuit of energy products and energy efficiency standards that would allow our nation to meet, if not exceed, the Kyoto Protocol emissions standards. Even beyond the issue of climate change, this kind of energy policy -- with a reduction in fossil-fuel use and a step towards increased energy efficiency -- makes sense for the nation's public health, the nation's environment, and the nation's security.
