Four Stars for President 2008

New Hampshire
December 9, 2003

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Today I would like to focus on one element of our environment – the air we breathe.

Our atmosphere sustains life. Though the atmosphere seems cast from the Earth’s surface it’s actually quite thin. If you walked ten miles, you will have walked the expanse of the atmosphere. Unfortunately, throughout most of our modern history, we have treated our atmosphere as a dump for airborne industrial byproducts.

America’s efforts to address air pollution are in many ways a great success story. In 1970, concerns about the health toll of air pollution led to the passage of the Clean Air Act. It was a landmark legislative achievement and a product of bipartisan cooperation, pushed by Democrats in the Congress and signed into law by a Republican president.

Under the Bush administration, the bipartisan cooperation that led to this landmark achievement has broken down. We lack the leadership necessary for such an outstanding environmental achievement. Instead, the President is moving relentlessly to dismantle environmental protections and undo a generation of progress.

His so-called “Clear Skies” legislation, for instance, would weaken public health protections against dangerous soot, smog pollution and toxic mercury.

Airborn mercury eventually settles in water, enters the food chain and is ingested by people. It attacks the brain and nervous system, poses special risks for pregnant women and damages the immune and cardiovascular systems of adults.

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My Clean Air Plan will improve America’s health and America’s economy. Compared to the Bush administration’s policies, my Clean Air Plan will prevent more than 100,000 premature deaths and more than two million asthma attacks through the year 2020.

Specifically, my four-part plan will:

• Set tough standards for the worst sources of air pollution, starting with electric power plants;
• Crack down on corporate polluters;
• Use American technology and market-based approaches to meet air pollution challenges with innovative, job-creating solutions; and
• Restore trust in the environmental stewardship of the White House.

Power plants produce huge amounts of air pollutants that threaten the health of millions. To protect the health of all Americans, I will set tough new standards for power plants, such as those in Senator James Jeffords’ Clean Power Act.

We must also act aggressively to reduce air toxins. I will fully implement the Clean Air Act, set new national standards for the most dangerous pollutants, and revoke the Bush Administration’s efforts to allow older plants to continue polluting at high rates even as they undertake massive expansion.

Plus, I’ll put the environmental cop back on the beat.

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