Democrats on the Environment

Editors' Summary: Environmental issues often involve collective choice about the kind of society we want. Choosing a President and a Congress on November 3 is one way we make that choice.

With that in mind, the Environmental Law Reporter called the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee. ELR asked each for the environmental platform positions adopted at the 1992 conventions. Reprinted below is what each party sent. ELR has not edited the text.

No matter what happens on November 3, government will face difficult environmental issues beginning in January 1993. Elected candidates are not always locked in to their platforms, of course, and several different platform positions can bear on a single policy issue. Still, the environmental positions reprinted here are a starting point in facing up to the environmental challenges of 1993 and beyond.

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Responsibility for the Environment

For ourselves and future generations, we must protect our environment. We will protect our old growth forests, preserve critical habitats, provide a genuine "no net loss" policy on wetlands, reduce our dependence on toxic chemicals, conserve the critical resources of soil, water and air, oppose new offshore oil drilling and mineral exploration and production in our nation's many environmentally critical areas, and address ocean pollution by reducing oil and toxic waste spills at sea. We believe America's youth can serve its country well through a civilian conservation corps. To protect the public health, we will clean up the environmental horrors at federal facilities, insist that private polluters clean up their toxic and hazardous wastes, and vigorously prosecute environmental criminals. We will oppose Republican efforts to gut the Clean Air Act in the guise of competitiveness. We will reduce the volume of solid waste and encourage the use of recycled materials while discouraging excess packaging. To avoid the mistakes of the past, we will actively support energy efficiency, recycling, and pollution prevention strategies.

Preserving the Global Environment

As the threat of nuclear holocaust recedes, the future of the earth is challenged by gathering environmental crises. As governments around the world have sought the path to concerted action, the Bush Administration — despite its alleged foreign policy expertise — has been more of an obstacle to progress than a leader for change, practicing isolationism on an issue that affects us all. Democrats know we must act now to save the health of the earth, and the health of our children, for generations to come.

Addressing Global Warming

The United States must become a leader, not an impediment, in the fight against global warming. We should join our European allies in agreeing to limit carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000.

Ozone Depletion

The United States must be a world leader in finding replacements for CFRCs and other ozone-depleting substances.

Biodiversity

We must work actively to protect the planet's biodiversity and preserve its forests. At the Rio Earth Summit, the Bush Administration's failure to negotiate a biodiversity treaty it could sign was an abdication of international leadership.

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Developing Nations

We must fashion imaginative ways of engaging governments and business in the effort to encourage developing nations to preserve their environmental heritage.

Population Growth

Explosive population growth must be controlled by working closely with other industrialized and developing nations and private organizations to fund greater family planning efforts.