“It’s time to put to rest the notion that economic growth and environmental protection are incompatible," U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson said today in a speech before the National Press Club in Washington.
"It’s time to finally dismiss this false choice," Jackson said. " We need a new approach that plays to America’s greatest strengths of ingenuity, invention and innovation. We need to reclaim leadership in the development of new products that protect our health and our environment. And we need to capitalize on the growing green marketplace here and around the world."
Over the past 30 years, emissions causing smog, acid rain and lead poisoning have decreased 54 percent while at the same time gross domestic product grew by 126 percent.
"That means we made huge reductions in air pollution at the same time that more cars went on the road, more power plants went on line and more buildings went up," Jackson said. "The question is, how does that happen? The answer is innovation.
“The question we face now is, what can we at EPA do to protect our environment, strengthen our communities and foster prosperity? One of the clear answers is abandoning the old disputes and working in partnership on new innovations," she said.
CLICK HERE for the full text of the EPA administrator's remarks.
