Eli Goldsmith, president of the Class of 2004, was working for a catalog company two summers ago when he took an order from a Christine T. Whitman of New Jersey. Goldsmith could not resist asking if he was speaking to the former governor.
When the caller answered in the affirmative, he told Whitman he was a student at Princeton and said she would be welcome to speak here anytime.
His efforts paid off yesterday when Environmental Protection Agency administrator Christine Todd Whitman spoke before a large crowd in McCosh 50. Whitman was governor of New Jersey from 1994 until 2000.
In the lecture, she defended the Bush administration's environmental record and proposals, which have come under frequent attack by several advocacy groups.
"There's no doubt that this administration and its opponents do advocate different approaches to environmental protection," Whitman said.
The Bush administration has moved away from the old "command-and-control model" toward a more inclusive approach emphasizing partnerships, she said.
The administration believes the best way to judge the success of environmental policies is to measure their effect on the environment instead of emphasizing the enforcement process, Whitman said. However, the administration will "vigorously enforce" the environmental laws, she added.
Whitman said the new approach does not represent a "weakening" of enforcement, as some groups have claimed. "There's no doubt in my mind but that this administration is trying to improve the environment," she said.
Clean Air Act
Reforming the Clean Air Act is a major priority for the administration, Whitman said. "The Clean Air Act is a classic example of command-and-control out of Washington," she said.
The administration has proposed two major reforms to this legislation, Whitman said. First, the administration has proposed changes to the rules on "new source review," which require that facilities use the most modern technology when they upgrade their equipment. These rules have caused some companies to avoid making needed repairs to their facilities, she said.
Clear Skies
The second major reform is the Clear Skies initiative, which Whitman called "the real cornerstone of the administration's clean air policies."
The initiative would set mandatory emissions caps, leading to a 70 percent reduction in the emission of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury. Coal-fired power plants emit large quantities of these "noxious pollutants," she said.
The plan would set mandatory caps for whole industries. Each industry would determine how to make the reductions, relying on the "power of the marketplace," Whitman said.
"Clear Skies improves on the results we would get under the Clean Air Act" by leading to better and steeper reductions, she added.
Question-and-answer
In the question-and-answer period, Whitman defended the administration's record on greenhouse gases. The administration has signed bilateral agreements with several countries to share technology that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, she said.
The administration's disengagement from the Kyoto protocol on greenhouse gas reduction was misperceived by some other nations, Whitman said. This disengagement did not represent an end to U.S. interest in pursuing any talks on greenhouse gases and global warming, she said.
"Now we're getting back into the discussion through the bilaterals and through some of the other initiatives the president has backed," she added.
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