Democrats Promise a Greener America

BOSTON, Massachusetts, July 28, 2004 (ENS) - At the Democratic National Convention Tuesday, speakers painted the policies of John Kerry with a green brush. His wife, Teresa Heinz-Kerry said her husband will pave the way to energy independence with "the technologies, new materials, and conservation methods of the future."

"He believes that alternative fuels will guarantee that not only will no American boy or girl go to war because of our dependence on foreign oil, but also that our economy will forever become independent of this need," Heinz-Kerry said.

Teresa Heinz-Kerry is chairman of The Howard Heinz Endowment and the Heinz Family Philanthropies. (Photo courtesy Kerry for President)

League of Conservation Voters President Deb Callahan told convention delegates, "John Kerry will be the strongest environmental president in our history."

"He earned the best environmental voting record of any nominee for president in recent history," Callahan said. Her organization scores Kerry's voting record in the Senate at 92 percent pro-environment.

Deb Callahan is president of the League of Conservation Voters (Photo courtesy LCV)

But the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy President Italia Federici threw cold water on Callahan's endorsement, saying Kerry has her support although, "In nearly 20 years in the Senate, only five Kerry sponsored environmentally related bills were enacted into law and none of those bills were national in scope or dealt with air quality, public health or clean water."

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Scorecard counts each decision a legislator makes, not only those that result in bills he sponsors being signed into law. So the LCV gives Kerry credit for voting "No" on President George W. Bush's Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003.

On the Scorecard, the LCV acknowledged that, "Years of fire suppression on national forest lands in western states and the growth of cities and towns near many national forests had resulted in several disastrous fire seasons that burned homes and communities."

The League gave environmental credit for the "No" vote because it reasoned, "The White House proposed to use this tragic situation as a pretext for more logging in areas that did not pose a threat to homes and businesses, while environmentalists supported a ?re policy that focused on removing hazardous brush in areas near communities."

Democratic Convention delegates stand and applaud (Photo courtesy DNCC)

But Federici said, "The fact that the LCV endorsed John Kerry even though he has not shown any true environmental leadership throughout his Senate career just proves that the LCV is more interested in environmental politics than environmental protection."

The Democratic Party Platform, approved on Tuesday at the convention, promises support for renewable energy, and for environmental safeguards in trade agreements.

It goes back to the Clinton administration idea that a healthy economy and a healthy environment go hand in hand. "We will foster a healthy economy and a healthy environment by promoting new technologies that create good jobs and improve our world," the Platform document states.

"We will strengthen the Clean Air Act, by controlling all of the top pollutants and offering new flexibility to industries that commit to cleaning up within that framework," the Platform promises.

Democratic Convention delegates wave their signs (Photo courtesy DNCC)

But some Democratic Platform statements sound exactly like the Bush administration's policies, such as "We will conserve and restore the habitats where wildlife flourish, expanding use of voluntary, incentive-based programs that target private landowners." The Bush administration has engaged in voluntary programs rather than legislated controls from the first day it took office.

Internationally, the Platform document promises a renewed engagement with other nations. "We know that America's fight for a healthy environment cannot be waged within our borders alone. Environmental hazards from around the globe reach America through the oceans and the jet streams encircling our planet.

And the Democrats promise to change the direction the Bush administration has taken the country by rejecting the Kyoto Protocol to limit the emission of greenhouse gases. "Climate change is a major international challenge that requires global leadership from the United States, not abdication," the Platform says. "We must restore American leadership on this issue as well as others such as hazardous waste emissions and depleted fisheries."

"We will reduce mercury emissions, smog and acid rain, and will address the challenge of climate change with the seriousness of purpose this great challenge demands," the Platform promises.

In a gesture towards the private sector, the Platform promises cooperation. "Rather than looking at American industries only as polluters, we will work with the private sector to create partnerships that make a profit and a cleaner world for us all," it states, while pledging tougher law enforcement. "At the same time, we will plug Republican-created legal loopholes and renew public enforcement of the law."