Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day

Floor Speech

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Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. President, earlier today--the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day--on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, I test drove the energy-efficient, fuel cell-powered Chevy Cruze.

Across Ohio, next-generation fuel-efficient vehicles are being built. GM recently announced that its plant in Lordstown, OH--near Youngstown in Trumball County--would bring back a third shift of workers to the assembly line to build the Cruze.

Twelve hundred jobs are expected to be created building this new line of fuel-efficient cars that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce the pollution of our air.

Forty years ago, many were hard-pressed to see how environmental and economic objectives could coexist.

The Cuyahoga River burned in Cleveland and oil spills marred the beaches of Santa Barbara.

With Lake Erie dying, Americans demanded an end to the polluted air and water that threatened the public health and safety of our Nation.

Such tragedies served as catalysts that established the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, passed the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, and formed a public and political conscience to safeguard our environment.

Today, the Cuyahoga River--41 years after the fire--is cleaner and healthier; more than 60 different fish species are thriving, and countless families are again enjoying its natural beauty.

The modern environmental movement was marked by the efforts of citizens demanding that their government protect our health by protecting our environment.

Like so many times throughout our Nation's history, citizen activism served as vehicle for change.

The 1960s, the third progressive era of the 20th century, was defined by passage of Medicare and Medicaid, the Higher Education Act, the Voting Rights Act, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and the Civil Rights Act.

Rachel Carson's 1962 ``Silent Spring'' helped the environmental movement educate elected officials and industry leaders about threats to human safety and the importance of environmental sustainability.

U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin persuaded President Kennedy to raise the importance of the conservation through a 5-day, 11 State tour in September 1963.

Senator Nelson took the energy of that tour and found it mirrored across the country in the public's desire for cleaner air and water.

Today, we celebrate Senator Nelson's vision of Earth Day--how his teach-ins and grassroots plea translated the public's concern for the environment into political action.

On April 22, 1970, after years of planning, Earth Day activities stretched from college campuses, to city parks, to community halls across the country.

That citizen call to action spurred decades worth of environmental protections that have improved the health of our Nation's air, streams, lakes, and rivers.

Today, Earth Day is celebrated around the world. And today, our college campuses are once again spurring our Nation's environmental innovation.

In northeastern Ohio, Oberlin College built one of the Nation's first--and at the time the largest--solar-powered building in the Nation. The college is also working with the city of Oberlin to develop green spaces and energy efficient living.

Baldwin Wallace has one of the Nation's only academic programs strictly devoted to sustainability practices.

Case Western is partnering with the Cleveland Foundation to build the world's first wind turbines in fresh water.

In northwestern Ohio, the University of Toledo's Clean and Alternative Energy Incubator has helped entrepreneurs and business make Toledo a national leader in solar energy jobs.

Bowling Green State University has the first and largest commercial scale wind farm in Ohio and the Midwest.

In Central Ohio, the Ohio State University is partnering with Battelle and Edison Welding to develop cutting-edge advanced alternative energy sources.

In southern Ohio, Ohio University is conducting a full-scale wind-data collection project in Appalachia to identify the best wind-energy resources within a 2,000-square-mile 7-county region.

And just this week the University of Cincinnati was named one of the greenest universities in the country.

Across Ohio, from Youngstown State University to Akron University to the University of Dayton and Stark State Community College, Ohio's campuses continue to be a breeding ground of innovation.

The activism and expertise of our students and entrepreneurs mark tremendous progress toward a more sustainable environment.

It is a progress that has led to the largest investment in clean energy and environmental sustainability in our Nation's history.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is making historic investments to make our water and sewer systems safer, our clean energy sources more affordable and available.

And Ohio's history of manufacturing excellence and cutting edge entrepreneurs is leading the Nation in Recovery Act funds used for clean energy.

For four decades, the environmental movement has made clear that without action, we face dangerous consequences. We risk the health of citizens, the viability of our coastal areas, and the productivity of our State's farms, forests, and fisheries.

We risk our long-term economic and national security.

Yet no longer do environmental and economic objectives conflict with each other. No longer do we needlessly pick winners and losers among regions, workers, and industries.

We have seen how despite our population growing by 50 percent in the past 40 years and the number of cars on the road having doubled over that same time, our air is 60 percent cleaner than at the time of the first Earth day in 1970, all while our economy has grown like no other in the history of the world.

Done right, our Nation can become energy independent, improve its global competitiveness, and create new jobs and technologies for our workforce.

As we plant the seeds for economic growth--for new jobs in new industries--we are also planting the seeds for a cleaner, more sustainable environment.

And that is what Earth Day represents--for workers making the Cruze in Lordstown or activists continuing to push for a cleaner environment.

Earth Day reminds us to call upon our history of innovation and perseverance to usher in a new era of prosperity for our Nation and sustainability for our plant.

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