ENVIRONMENT & ECONOMY : Speech - 10/30/92 FOR RELEASE UPON DELIVERY 9:30 EDT FRIDAY October 30, 1992 In Major Environment Speech: GORE STRESSES JOBS CONNECTION, OFFERS NEW VISION AND PLAN U.S. Has Historic Post-Cold War Opportunity on Global Environment SAYS BUSH FAILS TO RECOGNIZE OR CONFRONT CHALLENGE MANCHESTER, NH -- The U.S. faces an historic opportunity to move the world community toward a new commitment to environmental protection and at the same time, rebuild the U.S. economy and create jobs for American workers, Sen. Al Gore, D-TN, said today (10/30), outlining a comprehensive action plan and offering a sharp rebuke to the failed environmental policies and broken environmental promises of George Bush and Dan Quayle. "It's time for change. It is time to bring prosperity and hope back to America and to reclaim the future for our children. Bill Clinton and I understand that Americans care deeply about the kind of economy we build. We don't want a temporary boom with hell to pay later. We want an economic success story that promises safety and peace, as well as prosperity, to our children and grandchildren," said Gore, who is recognized internationally for his environmental expertise and leadership, in a speech at St. Anselm's College. "The new American dream is of an economy that flourishes without poisoning the water, the air, or the land and offers opportunity and hope for every American willing to work for it. Bill Clinton and I share this dream, and we know that it can be realized. We also know that no economy -- no economy -- can flourish if the natural resource base that supports it has been destroyed," said Gore. Providing specific examples of George Bush's failed economic and environmental policies, Gore said, "George Bush and Dan Quayle say we can't afford to invest in environmental protection. Bill Clinton and I say that we can't afford not to. The innovations needed to restore and protect the environment are the same innovations needed to keep our productivity going and our economy competitive," said Gore. Gore, who was chairman of the U.S. Senate delegation to the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio -- a first of its kind meeting of world leaders focused on the global environment -- called President Bush "a one-man wrecking crew, the source of setback after setback for the U.S. and the world community" whose intransigence left him isolated among world leaders at the Earth Summit. Gore outlined a Clinton-Gore approach to protect the environment, take advantage of the enormous new economic opportunity in environmental technologies and services, and provide leadership in the world community to protect the global environment. "Bill Clinton and I will work with industry to set goals and provide the right incentives to help the private sector profit from solving environmental problems," said Gore. "We'll provide targeted investment tax credits to help industries move from old, polluting technologies to the new and efficient technologies that are the key to competing in the global marketplace. And, we'll bring the best and brightest in our national labs together in partnership with industry to produce the technologies of the future." In addition, Gore said a Clinton-Gore Administration would harness the resources of U.S. agencies with international expertise to help industries identify important markets for their products overseas. "Well promote the export of American products -- not American jobs," Gore said. "Bill Clinton and I will work with Congress and industry to get our priorities straight and streamline environmental regulations, benefitting business as well as the environment," said Gore. "We will use market forces wherever possible to accomplish our goals, an approach that will encourage innovation and flexibility." "A Clinton Administration will build a new partnership with the American people. That partnership will be built on a genuine commitment to leave our children a better nation whose air, water and land are unspoiled; whose natural beauty is undimmed;and whose leadership for sustainable growth is unsurpassed," said Gore. "We will challenge Americans and demand responsibility at every level from individuals, families, communities, corporations, and government agencies to do more to preserve the quality of our environment and at the same time to improve the quality of our lives." And, on the global environment, Gore said the U.S. must exert international leadership. "The Cold War is over and we have entered a new era in which threats to our security may be less evident,but they are no less dangerous then before. If we do not find the vision and leadership to defeat the unprecedented new threats of global climate change, ozone depletion, habitat destruction, desertification, and pollution of water resources, then those threats could well defeat us. If we do find that vision, there is hope for tremendous economic opportunity and progress." Gore said the Bush-Quayle approach exploits "the fears of American workers -- fears rooted in the failed economic performance of the Bush-Quayle Administration -- by distorting a concern for the environment into a choice between jobs and the environment." "It's a false choice. And it's a shameless attempt to shift the blame for their own failed trickle down economic policies and an environmental record committed only to protecting polluters," he said. Gore provided examples of the Bush-Quayle environmental record saying George Bush "has worked overtime to undermine our environmental safeguards": * In 1988, Bush promised to clean up the air, but instead gave polluters the right to increase the amount of toxic chemicals they release into the air; * He promised to preserve America's remaining wetlands but instead simply defined them nearly out of existence; o He said he would get tough on trash but blocked every effort by EPA and Congress to encourage recycling; * Until protests from both Democratic and Republican governors stopped him, he proposed adding hazardous wastes to landfills; * He promised to pay special attention to U.S. parks then proposed opening them up to strip mining. "George Bush and Dan Quayle say environmental protection means a regulatory nightmare. Bill Clinton and I say that a smart government guides economic activity toward greater efficiency,competitiveness, and environmental security," said Gore. Other excerpts from Gore's speech: * "In the last industrial revolution, the economic prizes went to nations that exploited their natural resources with swashbuckling abandon. The winners of the next revolution will be those nations that recognize environmental stewardship as an economic opportunity and learn to profit from efficiency and imagination." * "As George Bush was stubbornly refusing to participate in the Earth Summit because he said it would cost American jobs, the Germans and the Japanese were busy demonstrating their efficient new technologies to leaders from around the world." * "We will challenge Americans and demand responsibility at every level from individuals, families, communities, corporations, and government agencies to do more to preserve the quality of our environment -- and at the same time to improve the quality of our lives," said Gore. * "George Bush and Dan Quayle found a thousand points of blame to explain why they couldn't solve our economic and environmental problems. They've turned their backs on unemployed workers who need jobs, they've simply turned their backs on the profound concerns the American people about the health of our planet." * "The real truth is that George Bush and Dan Quayle are undermining our childrens' future in order to protect their big polluting buddies and their own jobs." * "The fact is, even as George Bush and Dan Quayle were driving the U.S. economy into a ditch, environmental businesses grew six times as fast as the overall U.S. economy. In 1991, in the midst of a recession, America's 40 largest environmental firms reported payroll increases of nearly 9 percent." * "What George Bush and Dan Quayle can't seem to remember is something that the rest of us can't forget: our environment is literally the common ground of generations past and generations to come. We care about the environment and the national bounty of our rich land because we care about the world we live in and the future of America and our children." * "Bill Clinton and I understand the passion of the American people who value the land and natural wealth that our parents and our children have entrusted to us and we understand the frustration of hard-working people too long out of work. We recognize what America knows: reviving our economy demands protections for our environment. We're ready to do more than just talk about it." #######################