Ultimately, it could be a victory for
the much abused environment.
With US industries and environmentalists at loggerheads for the
past one year over the now familiar
tug-of-war between environment
and development, it seemed unlikely that a joint consensus could
ever be achieved. But a presidential
panel consisting of adversaries
from both camps, members of
Clinton's cabinet and Labour and
civil rights groups seem to have
pulled off a major coup last month.
The panel succeeded in its
achievement of a rare agreement on
how the existing system can be
improved, if not weakened, by not
removing environmental regulations as has been demanded by
many Republicans. It bestows on
the industries the freedom in
future to prevent pollution on their
own account, but on the condition
that they learn to perform better
than is required under the current
system of exacting safeguards.
This is being interpreted in
political circles as a shot-in-the-
arm for Clinton's election campaign. The President has been trying to distance himself from the
Republicans as being a steadfast
supporter for the cause of environment. The panel report along with
the industries' support (considered
until now to be staunch Republican
loyalists) now adds credence to
his stand.
The report has called for
increasing and not removing, a
layer of environmental protection.
While the current system will be
modified, it will be retained to act
as a green safeguard. On the touchy
subject of environmental regulations, the report states that while
industries could benefit from flexible and cost-effective way to handle
environmental goals, there could
be no compromise on public
health. The panel concluded its
report thus: efficiency, profit and
environmental protection are all
linked. Pollution is waste, waste
is inefficient and inefficiency
is expensive.
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