The Environment

Protection of our environment has a long and bi-partisan tradition that includes Republican Presidents Theodore Roosevelt (who doubled the number of National Parks in the early 20th Century) and Richard Nixon (who signed the Clean Air Act in 1970 and established the Environmental Protection Administration). Environmental conservation has also made industries more efficient, created jobs, and improved the economy. According to the EPA, for every $1 spent on environmental regulation, there's a $40 benefit for the country.

But today our environment is under direct attack from special interests and their allies in Congress. Scott Brown wants to weaken the Clean Air Act by blocking the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles and industrial facilities. Congressional Republicans are also trying to delay rules on toxic power plant emissions and reduce funding for clean energy research.

Alan Khazei understands that the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the environment in which we live have profound effects on our health and quality of life. In the US Senate, Alan will build on Massachusetts’ environmental progress and work to address the issues that remain.

Alan will be a strong advocate for environmental protection and reducing our contributions to climate change and global warming. He understands that strong advocacy is needed now to reduce or prevent the many negative impacts that might otherwise result in Massachusetts. This includes the health impacts of extreme heat and air pollution, flooding and shoreline erosion, and economic damage to commercial fishing, agriculture, and winter tourism.

Start With the Facts Air pollution, much of which is caused by fossil fuels like oil, coal, and gasoline, is estimated to cause approximately 2 million premature deaths worldwide per year. Every single year since 1992 is in the current list of the 20 warmest years on record More than 200,000 acres of rainforest are burned every day. That is more than 150 acres destroyed every minute, and 78 million acres every year. The rate of sea-level rise along the U.S. Atlantic coast is greater now than at any time in the past 2,000 years. Global carbon dioxide emissions from fuel combustion increased 40% from 1990-2008, from 20.9 billion tons to 29.4 billion tons. The US Energy Information Administration predicts these emissions will reach 33.8 billion tons in 2020 and 42.4 billion tons in 2035.

Alan’s Plan

• Protect and strengthen existing laws and regulations: The Clean Air Act, The Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, Wetlands Protection Act, and others
• Increase transparency and disclosure for companies extracting natural gas using the hydraulic fracturing (known as “fracking”) as proposed in the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act – the FRAC Act.
• Insist that the best scientific evidence is used to inform environmental policy on climate change and all other relevant issues
• Support conservation efforts such as the Department of Agriculture Forest Service’s Forest Legacy Program that partners with states to protect environmentally sensitive forests.
• Support aggressive enforcement of environmental regulations and protection for employee whistleblowers such as the $7.5 million fine related to a Massachusetts lawsuit regarding disposal of contaminated sludge and wastewater.