Columns

Friday, April 18, 2003

iowa: commemorating earth day every day

The first Earth Day in 1970 rallied over 20 million Americans to help conserve and protect natural resources and the environment. This year, Iowans have once again joined many others around the world to observe the 33rd Earth Day. As citizens of a state whose name means Abeautiful land@, we Iowans have much to celebrate and contemplate.

The first Earth Day fostered landmark conservation and environmental legislation like the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. Each Earth Day encourages us to recapture the spirit of the first one and to rededicate ourselves to its objectives.

I commemorate Earth Day by continuing to fight to maintain and strengthen sound policies for conserving and protecting our water, soil, forests, and endangered species. My family and I cherish these resources, and I want to do all I can to see that families in Iowa and across the nation will be able to enjoy them in the future.

Here in Iowa, I have worked to preserve natural treasures, such as the Loess Hills, Effigy Mounds, and the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. Even as we preserve these treasures, Iowa faces many more conservation challenges. Iowans, however, have a strong connection to the land and we will continue to build on the real progress since the first Earth Day.

We will do so with the help provided in the farm bill and other conservation programs. Conserving and protecting resources is not just about preserving our wild lands but also about saving soil and cleaning up our rivers and streams. That is why I worked so hard in the farm bill to help farmers and landowners protect the environment, especially through a new program of incentive payments: the Conservation Security Program. The farm bill also provides resources to protect agricultural land from development and enhance critical wildlife habitat.

Make no mistake, despite our progress, the environment and the laws that protect it are under attack. Recent actions have threatened the loss of some 20 million acres of wetlands. Increased emissions will result from the weakening of Clean Air Act regulations. The farm bill=s historic investment in conservation has already been eroded. And while we defeated a Senate proposal to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), that issue will surely return.

One area of real hope is renewable energy, where with the right steps Iowa can lead our nation. Pinning our hopes on drilling for a little more oil from a fragile area such as ANWR is not a long-term strategy. Renewable energy is. For that reason, I have worked hard to promote renewable energy production in Iowa. We currently import 97 percent of our Iowa energy use, but studies show that 46 percent of Iowa=s energy could come from renewable sources by 2020! I=m doing all I can by supporting renewable electricity and renewable fuels in new energy legislation, as well as tax incentives for ethanol, biodiesel, wind, solar, biomass and other renewable sources. Cleaner, domestically produced fuels are better for our environment and our energy security, and they will boost our Iowa economy.

By promoting and supporting sound conservation, and preventing our environmental laws from being weakened, all Americans B rural and urban B will reap the benefits. We can save soil and have cleaner air and water and more abundant wildlife. Our energy dollars will support rural development in Iowa, not foreign oil production. These initiatives will move our nation in the right direction by maintaining and enhancing our resources for future generations. That is the best way to celebrate Earth Day!