By U.S. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe(R-Maine)
Forty years ago, Senator Gaylord Nelson attempted to bring attention to a degraded environment through a day dedicated to our planet. On April 22, 1970, environmental issues, as they are today, were challenging – oxygen levels in the Androscoggin River frequently reached zero during the summer, resulting in the death of nearly all fish and other aquatic life in the river – and carbon monoxide and ozone emissions significantly degraded our country’s air quality. The environmental, economic, and personal costs of a failure to recognize the benefits of a healthy environment had reached a tipping point for many American citizens who demanded action – both through greater awareness of personal environmental decisions and through new public laws. Millions of Americans, as Senator Nelson said, “organized themselves” to not only protest the degradation of our environment, but also to educate each other on personal steps to reduce waste, increase recycling, and together improve the condition of environment around us.
Four decades later, Earth Day serves as a consequential reminder of what we have achieved since 1970, and what we still have left to accomplish, especially as we evaluate the current state of our environment. In that light, on this Earth Day, Mr. President, as the Ranking Member of the Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard subcommittee, I held a hearing on the threat of acidification on the largest ecosystems of the world, our oceans. And while the expert witnesses outlined the daunting hurdles of this 21st Century challenge to our lobster industry and the beautiful coral reefs of the world, it is encouraging at the same time to reflect upon the past challenges we’ve met that seemed insurmountable.
In 1970, there were fewer than 50 bald eagle nesting pairs in Maine, today there are at least 477. This extraordinary increase came to fruition through a combination of the federal ban on DDT and a concerted effort by Mainers who volunteered to track our sacred national symbol and conserve its habitat. Furthermore, just last year, the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife remarkably and thankfully was able to recommend the removal of the Bald Eagle from Maine’s list of Endangered and Threatened Species. It was a combination of dedicated attention by Mainers as well as public policies that made this success a reality. And in Maine’s iconic rivers and waterways fish are returning and our air quality has improved.
Nationally, for nearly ten years, I have been pleased to join forces with my good friend and colleague, Senator Dianne Feinstein, to implement technology available today and raise fuel economy standards for our nation’s automobile fleet. And finally, in 2007 we passed legislation that will cut air pollution, reduce our consumption of foreign oil, and save money at the gas pump – which will be of benefit to everyone, especially those in the rural parts of our state. And earlier this month, these rules were finalized and will save 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the life of cars and trucks sold between the 2012 and 2016 model years. This welcome and long overdue advancement will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles by 21 percent by 2030 and represents the most significant effort so far to combat climate change.
When we commemorate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day just ten years from now, let it be said that in 2010, we made great strides in improving energy efficiency in our homes and offices, we reduced the number of miles that we drive on a weekly basis, we mitigated carbon dioxide emissions, and we reduced the amount of oil we import. Above all, let us hope we can look back and say we were able to forge comprehensive energy legislation that spoke not just to our goals for protecting the environment and harnessing new sources for energy, for ensuring greater not lesser energy independence, but that reflected once again the hallmark vision, ingenuity, and can-do spirit that have always driven this great land for whom no task is too daunting and no adversity too steep.
