April 22, 2001 was the 30th Anniversary of Earth Day. While many celebrations occurred across the nation in honor of this milestone, the focus in our nation’s capital was on President Bush’s environmental policies.

Using Earth Day to answer his critics, President Bush said, “Each of us understands that our prosperity as a nation will mean little if our legacy to future generations is a world of polluted air, toxic waste and vanquished forests.”

In light of these Earth Day sentiments, President Bush has promised to maintain strict restrictions on toxic lead, and he has kept rules set by President Clinton, which expand wetlands protection and ban dozens of toxic chemicals worldwide.

Still, many Democrats and environmental activists are up in arms over the fact that since taking office in January, President Bush has:

• Put Clinton Administration regulations to cut the arsenic levels in drinking water on hold.
• Broken a campaign promise to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide from power plants.
• Chosen not to implement to Kyoto Protocol statute, which calls for industrial nations to reduce greenhouse gasses that could potentially contribute to global warming.
• Considered drilling for gas and oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.