Harry Reid: “Earth Day is today. Most of the celebrations took place this weekend. People are interested in this program all over the…”

“Earth Day is today. Most of the celebrations took place this weekend. People are interested in this program all over the country. Gaylord Nelson, a Senator from Wisconsin, came up with this idea. It has caught fire. People are more concerned about the environment than ever. I indicated the other day the reason we have the Clean Water Act is that for example, the Cuyahoga River in Ohio kept catching fire. Yes, they had to put out the fire on the river on a number of occasions because it was so polluted. It was determined at that time that 80 percent of our rivers and streams in the United States were polluted; only 20 percent were not. As a result of that river catching fire, Congress, and then President Nixon, decided something had to be done. The Clean Water Act was passed. It was imperfect legislation, but it has made great strides toward improving the waterways of this country. Some say the numbers have reversed, that now only 20 percent of the rivers and streams are polluted. That is probably inaccurate--it is probably more than that-- but progress has been made. Fish are returning to rivers that were once so polluted they could not survive in the water. There are rivers and streams now where people can catch fish and actually eat them; they are not toxic to eat. People realize Earth Day should apply not only to places in the mountains where it is greener but more fragile habitat such as the desert, from where I come.”