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Politics : Al Gore vs George Bush: the moderate's perspective -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (1998)	10/10/2000 1:18:59 PM
From: Jacques Chitte	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10042

Bore/Gush 2000!

To: American Spirit who wrote (1998)	10/10/2000 2:41:31 PM
From: Selectric II	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10042

Headline: Japanese Bomb Pearl Harbor! Gore's attack on Bush environmental record out of date, too. CNN calls attack “out of date” and Environmental Defense Fund called Texas deregulation law which made reductions mandatory the “strongest in the nation.” Joe Andrew: Texas is an example of the wrong way to do it, which is to literally let the polluters come in and put together voluntary programs, rather than having state mandated programs. Brooks Jackson: But in fact, that line of attack may be out of date. Bush did try to induce voluntary reductions from polluters not covered by federal clean air regulations. But last year he signed legislation making reductions mandatory for electric utilities. The Environmental Defense Fund called it a model for other states. This Texas utility deregulation law is the strongest in the nation, putting a permanent cap on emissions from the more than 130 grandfather power plants. -Environmental Defense Fund 1999 Annual Report (CNN, Inside Politics, 10/9/00) Governor Bush has supported and signed legislation cracking down on polluters. In fact: Governor Bush was the first Texas governor to seek emission reductions from older, unpermitted industries that were grandfathered under the 1971 Clean Air Act (Senate Bill 766, 76th Legislature). Under legislation signed by Governor Bush, Texas became the 3rd state in the nation to require pollution reductions and permits from grandfathered utilities (Senate Bill 7, 76th Legislature). Under this law, they are required to reduce nitrogen oxide pollution by 50 percent and sulfur dioxide emissions by 25 percent by 2003. Environmental Defense (formerly The Environmental Defense Fund) called this law, “the strongest in the nation.” According to the EPA, Texas leads the nation in reductions of toxic pollution into the air, land, and water. Texas’ emissions program is succeeding. The voluntary emissions reduction program started in September 1999, and grandfathered facilities have until 2003 to obtain their permits. Already, 133 permits have been issued to grandfathered facilities, and about 25,000 tons of air pollutant emissions have been reduced. This is more than any other Texas governor has achieved. Al Gore supports letting utilities “voluntarily” reduce their pollution. In contrast to what Governor Bush has done in Texas, in late June, Al Gore proposed a ten-year, $68 billion plan to pay grandfathered utilities that voluntarily reduce their emissions by some unspecified amount. Gore Attack: Now, Texas is one of the most polluted states in the nation, and under Bush, Houston became the nation's smoggiest city. Facts: Emissions in Texas have dropped. During George Bush’s tenure as Governor of Texas, emissions have fallen in Texas. According to the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission’s Industrial Emissions Inventory, industrial air emissions in Texas have dropped by 11% from 1994 to 1998. Emissions in Texas have fallen under Governor Bush. According to EPA data, Texas under Governor Bush compares favorably to the rest of the nation regarding reduction of the emission of several pollutants. From 1995 to 1997: Sulfur dioxide emissions in Texas fell by 17.1%, while emissions for the nation as a whole increased by 11.2%. Nitrogen oxide emissions in Texas fell by 23.6%, while emissions for the nation as a whole increased by 8.2%. Volatile organic compound emissions in Texas fell by 43.2%, while emissions for the nation as a whole fell by only 16%. (VOCs are the main precursor of ozone.) Carbon monoxide emissions in Texas fell by 12%, while emissions for the nation as a whole fell by only 5.1%. Texas has a plan to reduce pollution even further. Texas has submitted to the EPA an aggressive plan to reduce industrial pollution in Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth by nearly 90%, and throughout the eastern half of the state by 50%.