Bob Dole: “I rise today in support of Earth Day. Thirty-eight years ago, 20 million people from across our country celebrated Earth…”

“I rise today in support of Earth Day. Thirty-eight years ago, 20 million people from across our country celebrated Earth Day for the first time. This has since become an important annual tradition, not only in America, but across the globe. What started as a day to voice concerns over smog, litter and dirty rivers is now a global movement to clean our air, land, and water for future generations. I am pleased that we have found many commonsense solutions to difficult environmental problems since the first Earth Day in 1970. For example, in 1978 we banned chlorofluorocarbons in aerosol cans because of their devastating affect on the ozone layer. In 1990 we passed the Clean Air Act Amendments to stop acid rain. And in 2003 we passed the Clear Skies legislation to reduce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide that pollute our air. Although all of these accomplishments make sense to us today, it wasn't always easy to convince leaders and even the public that these actions were essential to protect our environment.”