The Loma Prietan
November 2000
Sierra Club Endorses Gore
Media contact: Allen Mattison, 202-675-7903
For Immediate Release July 22, 2000
SIERRA CLUB: ELECT AL GORE; CLEAN UP AMERICAN POLITICS
WASHINGTON - The Sierra Club today endorsed Vice President Al Gore
to
be the next President of the United States.
The Sierra Club Board of Directors also voted today to clean up
American politics by: including serious third party candidates,
including Ralph Nader, in the Presidential debates; getting big
money
out of politics by closing loopholes in current campaign-finance
laws;
establishing effective spending limits; adopting public financing
for
Senate and congressional candidates; and supporting the
free-television-time proposal developed by the Alliance for Better
Campaigns.
"The Sierra Club endorses Vice President Gore because he is
committed
to cutting air and water pollution and protecting our nation's
treasured forests and wildlands," said Dr. Robert Cox, Sierra
Club's
volunteer President. "As Vice President, Al Gore helped strengthen
clean air health standards, sped clean up of Superfund toxic waste
sites, reduced automobile tailpipe pollution, and protected
America's
spectacular landscapes. This is the kind of leadership the American
people are seeking in our next President.
"Governor Bush, on the other hand, has said that if he's elected,
he
will weaken toxic-waste clean-up standards, allow oil drilling in
the
Arctic Refuge, and increase logging in National Forests," Cox
continued. "When it comes to protecting our environment, Al Gore
is
by far our best shot at a President committed to a sustainable
future,
tested as a political leader, and qualified to lead America into
the
next century."
The Gore endorsement capped a 6-month process in which the
grassroots
organization surveyed each of its chapters and thousands of its
volunteer leaders. Thirty-nine chapters, representing 413,854
members, favored a Gore endorsement; one chapter, with 3,006
members,
supported an endorsement for Ralph Nader; 16 chapters, with 138,236
members, did not respond.
"When the Sierra Club asked our local chapters and thousands of
volunteer leaders whether to endorse a Presidential candidate, the
response was overwhelming: They want Al Gore in the White House,
protecting America's environment," Cox said. "Our members believe
that
a vote for Gore is the best way to protect our families from
pollution
and safeguard our nation's landscapes for future generations to
enjoy."
The Sierra Club Board of Directors recognized consumer-advocate
Ralph
Nader's record of work for the environment, but emphasized the
urgency
of defeating Texas Governor George Bush as an additional reason for
endorsing Vice-President Gore.
"Our members looked at the records of all the candidates," said
Cox.
"We looked at their positions, their records, and their experience.
Al Gore is our overwhelming choice."
The Sierra Club, with over 600,000 members, is the nation's oldest
and
largest grassroots environmental organization. The Board voted to
endorse Vice President with 12 in favor, two against, and one
abstention.
Resolution endorsing Gore:
"The Sierra Club endorses Al Gore for President of the United
States.
We will do everything in our power to help Mr. Gore win the
presidency. Mr. Gore has a long history as an advocate for the
environment and we look forward to his Presidency and a new
beginning
for strong environmental protection in this country."
Resolution on cleaning up politics:
"Working on the current election is not enough. The single-round,
winner-take-all political process has problems. We support
alternative electoral methods that better reflect the diversity of
public opinion. We need to get big money out of politics by
closing
loopholes in current campaign finance laws, establishing effective
spending limits, and adopting public financing for Senate and
congressional candidates. We support the free television time
proposal developed by the Alliance for Better Campaigns. It is
unrealistic to believe that such changes can be accomplished in
this
election, which will be over in a few months. It's too large a
job,
and the time is too short.
"Important issues relating to globalization, trade agreements,
democracy and the environment have been raised in a substantive way
by
Ralph Nader. Sierra Club supports many of Mr. Nader's
environmental
and campaign finance reform proposals. While the Sierra Club does
not
endorse Ralph Nader in this election, we believe that serious third
party candidates, including Mr. Nader, should be included in
presidential debates."
# # #
COMPARISON OF VICE PRESIDENT GORE AND GOVERNOR BUSH
ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
ISSUE: TOXIC POLLUTION
Gore:
- Expanded Community Right to Know program requiring companies to
report toxic chemical emissions.
- Sped up and increased Superfund cleanups.
Bush:
- Seeks to weaken Superfund cleanups.
- Texas leads the nation in injecting toxic waste into underground
wells, disposing 60% more toxic waste into injection wells than any
other state.
ISSUE: CLEAN AIR
Gore:
- Strengthened soot and smog clean-air health-standards, fighting
legal challenges to those protections.
- Adopted strictest ever emissions standards for cars, SUVs and
light
trucks.
- Required elimination of 90% of sulfur from gasoline.
- Called on power plants to cut their air pollution and global
warming
emissions.
- Proposed slashing sulfur levels in diesel fuel.
Bush:
- Texas leads the U.S. in toxic industrial air pollution, but Bush
chose not to require outdated facilities to clean up.
- Texas state officials sought to weaken Clean Air Act.
- Houston passed Los Angeles last year as America's smoggiest city.
- When came to office in 1995, cancelled auto emissions testing
program in Houston.
ISSUE: CLEAN WATER
Gore:
- Expanded funding for clean water programs.
- Proposed slashing arsenic levels in drinking water.
Bush:
- Proposed weakening Texas clean-water standards.
- Texas leads the U.S. in violation of clean water discharge
standards.
ISSUE: PROTECT WILD LANDS
Gore:
- Has a stronger position than the Administration on protecting
roadless, wild areas of our National Forests. Called for an end to
all logging in those unspoiled places and immediate protection for
the
Tongass National Forest in Alaska.
- Enacted the California Desert Protection Act, largest public
lands
protection bill ever in the lower 48 states.
- Opposes drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
- Created or expanded 10 new National Monuments to protect
landscapes
threatened by development.
- Reduced logging in National Forests by 80% since 1993.
- Extended offshore oil leasing moratorium in California and
Florida
for 10 years.
- Proposed Lands Legacy Initiative.
- Supports expanding the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Bush:
- Seeks to increase logging in National Forests.
- Would allow oil companies to drill in Arctic Refuge.
- Aims to reverse President Clinton's plan to protect wild,
roadless
National Forest areas.
- Opposes newly created National Monuments.
- Supports funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
ISSUE: CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM
Gore:
- Supports McCain-Feingold bill to ban soft-money donations to
political parties.
- Supports quasi-public financing of Congressional elections.
Bush:
- Opposes McCain-Feingold reforms.
- Opposes public financing of elections.