Al Gore calls pollution a moral, ethical issue

Al Gore calls pollution a moral, ethical issue

By MICHAEL DAVIS
STAFF WRITER

KNOXVILLE — Former Vice President Al Gore called Wednesday for better environmental stewardship, tagging the issue of pollution as both a "moral" and "ethical" matter.

"Everything that needs to be done to clean up our air also needs to be done to fix (the global environment)," the former Democratic senator from Tennessee said. "We the people, regardless of party, have the God-given right to step forward and say we're going to change this and save the Earth's environment."

Mr. Gore was keynote speaker at a daylong forum at the University of Tennessee commemorating the 35th anniversary of the Clean Air Act. He addressed a standing-room-only crowd at the Carolyn P. Brown University Center Auditorium.

The forum, hosted by the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, came on a day in which President Bush's "Clear Skies" initiative relaxing federal air pollution control restrictions on power plants was defeated in the Senate Environment Committee.

Mr. Baker, who declined comment on specific legislation, said in an interview after the forum that he agreed with Mr. Gore's stance that there should be more bipartisan political action on the environment.

Mr. Baker, who recently stepped down as ambassador to Japan, told the audience that his work on the Clean Air Act was his proudest achievement in Congress.

"At every instance our air is still getting cleaner," he said.

Senate panel rejects 'Clear Skies' bill

Cox News Service

WASHINGTON — A deadlocked Senate committee refused Wednesday to approve President Bush's "Clear Skies" air pollution bill after opponents argued it would do nothing about global warming and too little about other environmental problems.

Although the action, which followed several weeks of intensive negotiations among members of the committee, does not derail the president's top environmental priority, it leaves it stalled for the time being.

"This is an easy no-vote for me," declared Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., the only Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee to oppose a motion to pass the bill.

Chafee's vote, along with those of Sen. James Jeffords, I-Vt., and the committee's seven Democrats, meant the vote was 9-9, one "yes" vote short of a necessary majority.

Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, warned that time was running out for Clean Air Act changes this year.

"If we're serious about getting a bill passed and getting this work done, we've got to come to an agreement," he declared. "Clear Skies is simply too important."

Opponents cited several objections, saying the bill would extend deadlines for cleaning up power plant air pollution until 2018, do nothing about reducing greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and leave "hot spots" of mercury contamination near coal-burning plants.

The plan, which Bush unveiled in 2002, has been enthusiastically supported by the electric power industry and opposed with corresponding fervor by environmental and health advocacy organizations.

It would substantially rewrite Clean Air Act provisions for dealing with the neurotoxic metal mercury and a group of pollutants known as nitrogen oxides. In place of requirements that industries install specific pollution control equipment, they would be able to choose their own control strategies to meet federal pollution caps. Companies that failed to meet the caps could buy "allowances" awarded to those facilities that did.

Such a cap-and-trade plan is already in effect for sulfur dioxide, the power plant pollutant chiefly responsible for acid rain. Clear Skies would expand the sulfur dioxide provision.

Within hours of the committee's vote, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it would release a new regulation under the existing Clean Air Act Thursday to "reduce and permanently cap sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides."

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., had opposed the original Bush plan, saying it did not go far enough and fast enough in reducing pollution. But he said in a statement that he was "disappointed" the committee did not pass the new Clear Skies version presented by Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio.

"Americans and Tennesseans especially need it," he said in a statement.

He said Sen. Voinovich's plan "is a substantial improvement" and is "becoming the kind of strong legislation that our country needs and that I can support."

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said in a statement he too was disappointed the bill failed to clear committee.

"It is vitally important — especially to Tennessee — that we continue to pursue significant power plant emissions as the president has proposed," he said.

But Stephen Smith of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy praised the bill's defeat.

"We hope that Sen. Frist will respect the bipartisan committee opposition and not attempt to bypass the committee to take the bill to the floor," he said.

Staff Writer Andy Sher contributed to this report

Clean Air Act making difference for Tennesseans, officials say

By MICHAEL DAVIS
STAFF WRITER

KNOXVILLE — The Clean Air Act has had a major effect on Tennessee's air quality 35 years after being enacted, and work continues to ensure cleaner air for the state's residents, officials said Wednesday.

"We are making very substantial progress in the development of (pollution-combating) technologies," said Paul Gilman, director of the Oak Ridge Center for Advanced Studies — a government-funded science policy group. "The Clean Air Act benefits ... exceed the benefits of every other regulatory public health program in the United States in the last 30 years."

But Dan Pursglove, 71, of Seymour, Tenn., said after one session at a clean air forum at the University of Tennessee that the state's air quality is poor. He said state government should do more to promote alternative fuel, such as giving residents incentives for using other modes of power.

"They're not doing anything within the state itself," he said. "It can be a piecemeal approach."

Bill Baxter, a director of the Tennessee Valley Authority, said energy, environmental and economic development concerns must be interwoven to balance clean air policies and a strong economy.

"Our air quality in this country and in the Tennessee Valley is continually getting better," Mr. Baxter said. "We all support the tightening of (environmental) rules and the continued improvement of our air."

But Mr. Baxter said mercury now is not regulated under the Clean Air Act and should not fall under that law. He said the United States produces a very small percentage of the world's mercury air emissions, and such measures could hurt industry.

Jim Renfro, chief of the air quality branch at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, said haze has altered the park's visibility — the main reason tourists cite for visiting it each year.

But Mr. Renfro said ozone levels are improving as the park strives to meet Environmental Protection Agency standards.

"The bad news is we're (at EPA) nonattainment," he said. "The good news is we're getting better."

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner Betsy Child said the $10 million Gov. Phil Bredesen recently allocated in his budget shows the state's commitment to environmental protection.

But Ms. Child said a multi-pronged approach with means such as new technology, education and policies such as truck speed limit reductions gradually will help improve air quality for Tennesseans.

"We must move forward in a very aggressive way," she said. "We have got to work on air quality issues. There is no single silver bullet."