Washington, D.C. - Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) released the following statement today in recognition of the 35th celebration of Earth Day:
“Today our nation celebrates the 35th Earth Day. The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 when millions of people from around the country rallied together to demand a safer, cleaner and healthier world. That Earth Day had an astounding impact on public policy. Congress quickly and overwhelmingly passed the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act.
“Now, thirty-five years later, our air is cleaner, our drinking water is safer, our rivers are clearer, and many species are no longer endangered. However, these bipartisan achievements of the 1970s are now under attack by a radical Republican leadership that has decided to put a host of special interests ahead of the interests of the American people.
“Unfortunately for our country, the Bush Administration is reversing decades of bipartisan progress on the environment – by working to roll back such bipartisan landmarks as the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act.
“On Earth Day, we must rededicate ourselves to protecting the health of our children. There is now a proposal in Congress that actually weakens the standards of the current Clean Air Act and would give industries the ability to continue to pollute. For the sake of our children’s health, we must defeat this proposal and instead fight for enforcement of the Clean Air Act and for continuing on the path of achieving cleaner air for our children to breathe.
“Mercury contamination is another key issue affecting the health of our children, which has begun to receive increasing attention. Airborne mercury from power plants ends up in rivers and lakes, where it is absorbed by fish that are then caught and eaten by people. Mercury contamination has become so widespread that 44 states have issued warnings about contamination of their lakes and rivers.
“Mercury exposure is particularly dangerous for infants, children, and pregnant women. Indeed, mercury interferes with brain development and has been linked to mental retardation, cerebral palsy, deafness and blindness in developing fetuses and infants.
“Unfortunately, the Bush Administration has just issued a new rule that will delay and weaken planned controls on toxic mercury emissions. I am working with others in Congress to ensure that this damaging rule is overturned and that we move aggressively to cut mercury emissions.
“In sum, we must recapture the energy and dedication of that first Earth Day by rededicating ourselves to clean air protections, clean water protections and toxic waste site cleanups in order to protect our children’s health and our nation’s future.”