22 April 2001: The top US environment officer has defended her organisation's environmental record, saying it would continue to make decisions based on 'good science and good policy'.
EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman said that both she and US President George Bush understood that 'balance is difficult to achieve' when talking about the environment, because it 'evokes strong emotions' and reactions in activists.
Speaking on CNN on an Earth Day programme, Whitman said the President and herself are not going to make decisions based on 'the potential for bad press'. "We're going to make our decisions based on good science and good policy, and that means we're going to take some hits," she said.
The new administration has faced criticism from environmental activists for Bush's withdrawal of US support for the Kyoto global warming treaty, a decision to back logging in national forests, plans for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and suspension of rules approved by former President Bill Clinton to cut arsenic in water.
But in an apparent about-turn this last week, it announced the United States would sign a global treaty aimed at curbing toxic chemicals, backing tougher lead reporting standards for manufacturers, and endorsing the Clinton-era arsenic rules.
Bush has also approved a rule to tighten emission standards for diesel engines and also backed new pesticide protections for children.
Greenpeace leaders and other activists chained themselves to the entrance of the EPA headquarters on Thursday in protest against Bush. BB
