Bush, Democrats Present Contrasting Views on Environment

 

Scott Stearns

President Bush says he is continuing an enduring national commitment to protect the environment. Democrats¹ say the president's environmental policies are heading in the wrong direction.
President Bush says his environmental record honors a national, bipartisan legacy² of working to conserve³ nature.
"In the past three decades, America has made great strides in honoring the ideal of conservation, and living by high standards of stewardship⁴," he said. "My administration's environmental efforts uphold that legacy. In the past four years, America's air, land and water have all gotten cleaner. Our new proposals build on that progress and help us advance toward our national goal of a cleaner, safer, healthier environment."
Mr. Bush used his weekly radio address to focus on a plan to spend nearly $350 million over the next five years to create and protect more than one million hectares of wetlands, in cooperation with state and local governments, conservation groups and business leaders.
Mr. Bush announced that plan this past week at ceremonies marking Earth Day. The president's presumptive Democratic challenger, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, used the day to attack the administration's environmental record.
That criticism continued in the Democratic radio address Saturday with Colorado Congressman⁵ Mark Udall saying the president's policies are headed in the wrong direction.
"Under President Bush, we have basically sold out our environment for the profit of the special interests," said Mark Udall.
Congressman Udall says the president has made it easier for big business to pollute the air and water by not forcing corporations to clean-up their pollution.
President Bush says his administration has reclaimed⁶ over 1,000 abandoned and polluted industrial areas over the last two years.

注释：
commitment [kE5mitmEnt] n. 承担义务
bipartisan [bai7pB:ti5zAn] adj. 代表两党的，得到两党支持的
stride [straid] n. 步幅
stewardship [stjuEd5Fip] n. 工作
focus on 集中
hectare [5hektB:] n. 公顷（等于1万平方米）
reclaim [ri5kleim] vt. 要求归还，收回

1 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

3 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

4 stewardship   

n. n. 管理工作；管事人的职位及职责

参考例句：

• The organization certainly prospered under his stewardship. 不可否认，这个组织在他的管理下兴旺了起来。
• Last, but certainly not least, are the issues of stewardship and ethics. 最后，但当然不是微不足道的，是工作和道德规范的问题。

5 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

6 reclaimed   

adj.再生的；翻造的；收复的；回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• Many sufferers have been reclaimed from a dependence on alcohol. 许多嗜酒成癖的受害者已经被挽救过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They reclaimed him from his evil ways. 他们把他从邪恶中挽救出来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》