Christine Todd Whitman, former governor of New Jersey and current head of the Environmental Protection Agency, stressed that environmental and economic policies can coexist in a speech on Monday night.
She discussed Bush’s proposed Clear Skies initiative, which is designed to reduce air pollutants such as sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides by 2018. The initiative would use pollution credits as a price-effective method to achieve emission reductions, she said.
Whitman also noted the EPA’s continued focus on reducing the effects of indirect pollution sources on watersheds and along coastlines through the Clean Water Act.
She stated that these programs and others like them provide economically sound solutions to environmental issues.
According to Whitman, economic demands and environmental demands need not be contradictory.
“We can have a robust economy at the same time that we have a healthy environment,”she said.
Whitman addressed several questions from the audience about the EPA’s policies regarding current and future environmental concerns, such as global environmental policy and the role of nuclear power.
She said that although the United States rejected the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty designed to address climate change, it spends $1.5 billion spends annually on climate research which demonstrates its committment to solving the problem.
Whitman said that nuclear power is likely to play a larger role in meeting U.S. energy needs in the future. She cited nuclear power as both the cleanest most most viable alternative to traditional energy sources.
Whitman also emphasized the need for a continued dialogue on environmental issues between supporters of the environment and those concerned with the economy, two groups often perceived to be on opposing sides of issues.
“We are all invested . . . these are not antithetical positions ,” Whitman said
