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The Candidates on the Issues: Environment

President Bush speaks to supporters in Wells, Maine on Earth Day, April 22, 2004.
President Bush speaks to supporters in Wells, Maine on Earth Day, April 22, 2004.
Sen. John Kerry greets supporters during an Earth Day rally at the University of Houston, April 22, 2004.
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Sen. John Kerry greets supporters during an Earth Day rally at the University of Houston, April 22, 2004.

On Earth Day this year, President Bush and Sen. Kerry extolled the virtues of conservation, clean air, and wetlands. While the environment has never played a deciding role in a presidential election, these issues are often a critical part of how the candidates define themselves and each other. This election is proving to be no different.

Bush has proposed a controlled expansion of the nation's wetlands over the next five years, but he also supports a "less government is better" approach to environmental regulation. Critics have accused the current administration of reversing decades of environmental progress.

For Kerry, who blames the White House for failing to clean up toxic sites, the issue requires a delicate balancing act: he wants to look "green" enough to convince voters who might be leaning towards Nader, but not so green that he loses points with those who worry about trade-offs between the environment and jobs. NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.