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Environment
I believe that there is a consensus among most Americans that the environment has improved over the last 25 years and that the country has benefited from this improvement. The real question concerning environmental policies is not whether or not we believe our forests, lakes and dunes are worth protecting but how to accomplish this in the most effective and cost-efficient way.
For too long our nation's environmental policies have been operating in a 1970s command and control model run by those in Washington, DC. These sorts of programs assume that problems and answers will remain the same regardless of where they occur or the populations they effect. A new environmental vision must look beyond this static approach and toward a system that fosters cooperation and ends in real or measurable results.
Environmental problems are not all the same. Most problems involve distinct qualities that make them unique and different from those of another city, state or region. For this reason, Congress must concentrate on providing local communities with the necessary resources for solving these problems at the local level. This process involves creating an environment in which individuals, community groups and businesses can work together to solve their problems in a mutually beneficial way.
We live in a dynamic world and the quality of our lives is affected greatly by our natural environment. This issue is viewed as a struggle between economic and environmental interests. This is exactly the type of rhetoric we need to avoid if progress is going to be made on this issue. We need to improve both our environmental and economic quality of life if we are going to leave a better world for future generations.
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