President George W. Bush delivers remarks at Sequoia National Park in California May 30, 2001. “Our duty is to use the land well, and sometimes, not to use it at all. This is our responsibility as citizens; but, more than that, it is our calling as stewards of the Earth,” said the President. “Good stewardship of the environment is not just a personal responsibility, it is a public value. Americans are united in the belief that we must preserve our natural heritage and safeguard the land around us.”
Key Bush Environmental Accomplishments
The Bush Administration's Environmental Philosophy
The focus is on results - making our air, water, and land cleaner.
We need to employ the best science and data to inform our
decision-making.
Our policies should encourage innovation and the
development of new, cleaner technologies.
We should continue to build
on America's ethic of stewardship and personal responsibility through
education and volunteer opportunities, and in our daily lives.
Opportunities for environmental improvements are not limited to Federal
Government actions - States, tribes, local communities, and individuals
must be included.
Building on Our Great Environmental Progress
Over the last 30 years, our Nation has made great progress in
providing for a better environment and improving public
health. In that time, our economy grew 164 percent,
population grew 39 percent, and our energy consumption
increased 42 percent, yet air pollution from the six major
pollutants decreased by 48 percent. In 2002, state data
reported to EPA showed that approximately 251 million people
(or 94 percent of the total population) were served by
community water systems that met all health-based standards.
This number is up from 79 percent in 1993.The President is
committed to delivering even greater progress.
Cleaning and Redeveloping Hazardous Waste Sites
Brownfields Program
Fulfilling a commitment he made when he ran for President,
President Bush signed historic bipartisan brownfields legislation in
2002, accelerating the cleanup of brownfields to better protect public
health, create jobs, and revitalize communities.