Speaking of the Environment

As has become all too natural, presidential candidates finally got around to the issues of energy and the environment when the campaign progressed to the Oregon and California primaries, with the exception of some issues close to the hearts of New Hampshirites. That is better than not at all, but energy and environmental issues should be getting far more attention nationally in the late 1980s, when it has become alarmingly apparent that the Earth cannot long sustain the old way of doing things.

But now that the issues have been joined, how do the candidates fare?

The Rev. Jesse Jackson talks the best line. He has the most radical positions of any of the candidates, which in the long run might be the most prudent, and perhaps even the best for the national and world economies. He has no record in government, of course, and often his positions are vague or seem confused and lack details of implementation. The League of Conservation Voters gives Jackson a B rating on a scale of A to F.

Gov. Michael S. Dukakis is more cautious in carving out positions on energy and the environment, but he generally has a good record as the chief executive of Massachusetts. His state long has been a leader in opposing offshore oil drilling in the Georges Bank area and for action on acid rain. And Dukakis has been in the forefront of opposition to the Seabrook nuclear-power plant in nearby New Hampshire, helping to keep the plant from going into operation by refusing to approve a proposed evacuation plan. Dukakis also rates a B from the League of Conservation Voters, but might have done better except for a few environmental appointments that the league felt were weak.

Republican Vice President George Bush tried to talk like Teddy Roosevelt while rafting downan Oregon river this past week. Bush likes the outdoor life, he said. Bully. But the vice president has been exceedingly vague. He wants tax assistance to spur oil exploration, and supports the offshore oil program, nuclear power and coal. He has bought into the ridiculous notion that caribou love the Alaska oil pipeline, declaring, “They lean up against it, have a lot of babies, scratch on it. There’s more damn caribou than you can shake a stick at.” The League of Conservation Voters gave Bush a D rating.

On one of the issues of most immediate concern to California, both Jackson and Dukakis have acceptable positions and Bush does not. This is the Interior Department’s proposed leasing early next year of portions of the Humboldt and Mendocino County coasts for oil and gas exploration and production. Jackson says that he is opposed to all further offshore oil activity, which is admirable but may be impractical in the short run. Dukakis says that he woud lease only as a last resort and would spare California’s rugged and unspoiled North Coast. Bush says that he is for a balanced offshore oil program, which is Reagan Administration code language for all-out drilling.

The environmental quote of the campaign comes from Jackson: “If a foreign power poisoned our air with acid rain, dumped toxic wastes in our water supply and then took over the living space from our wildlife, we’d see this as a threat to our national security. But we are doing this to ourselves and it must stop.”

This would not be a bad chapter heading for either national party to have in its 1988 platform.