John Kerry's position on

Environment: Key environmental issues in the 2004 campaign are air pollution, water pollution, public land preservation, contaminated industrial sites, and global warming or climate change. For a specific discussion of warming, see this link

Description of candidate's position: Kerry plans to set a new standard of environment excellence by:

*Revitalizing contaminated industrial sites to rid communities of toxins

*Enacting a Conservation Covenant with America to ensure balanced protection for our public lands and adequate resources to enhance our national parks

*Aggressively taking action to stop acid rain, and using innovative, job-creating programs to reduce mercury emissions and other emissions that contribute to global warming

*Implementing a "Restore America's Waters" campaign by working with states on tough water quality challenges, restoring damaged watersheds, protecting wetlands, investing in our waterfronts and coastal communities, and protecting our oceans

Quotation from the candidate: "Whether it's saving our great public spaces like this one, stopping polluters from sending toxins into the water you drink, or protecting those national treasures we count on for our jobs, our livelihoods, and to feed our souls, our responsibility as Americans is to protect and preserve God's gift to human kind. We're going to ensure that our values and our beliefs reflect in how we treat our oceans, how we develop our small towns in the mountains, and how we protect our national parks and treasures. For we are all stewards of our land and water." April 22, 2004, from the Kerry website

Assessment of the proposal:

Positive: The League of Conservation Voters endorsement of John Kerry is the earliest ever in the league's history. "John Kerry understands how to protect our water and remove mercury from our air…This is a man who understands that the 2004 election is about the world we pass on to our children not passing the problems of our world to our children. John Kerry is the candidate to defeat President Bush, who has compiled the worst environmental record in the history of our nation," LCV President, Deb Callahan.

Negative: According to conservative Rep. C.L. Butch Otter, R-Idaho, "a John Kerry administration would embolden environmental extremists to press an aggressive agenda of restricting access and responsible use of public lands."

Comparison: Kerry is for progress without pollution; growing our economy while protecting our natural resources. Kerry's view is that our economy is best served by forward-looking environment policies that protect our health, our lands, and our jobs. Bush favors a market-based cap-and-trade system that will give companies incentives for following environmental controls. His goal is to have a pro-growth, a pro-job, and a pro-environment agenda.

Link to Bush's issue page