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Jesse Ventura on Environment
Former Independent MN Governor
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Smart Growth with greenways and mass transit
Recognizing that growth will occur, communities should be shaped by choice, not by chance. That Minnesota will grow is given; how we will grow is not. “Smart growth” principles force tough choices about how we
will grow and how the state’s resources will be used. It’s a mindset about incentives, not mandates. Minnesota’s resources should be focused on helping first those communities that are committed to sustaining existing development and enhancing our
environmental resources through the development of greenways and the use of other tools to protect and conserve our open spaces. Smart growth is creating an environment in which farming and urban development can co-exist.
Smart growth is fostering more reliance on transit and creating housing options that allow families to stay and invest in a community.
Source: The Big Plan: Healthy, Vital Communities
, Dec 10, 2000
Recycling conserve our limited resources
Humans in general are very wasteful with our natural resources. Recycling is positive way to conserve our limited resources. We could be managing our current recycling programs better and more cost-efficiently than we currently are. We should be
actively searching out effective and efficient ways to recycle the resources we are consuming each day. There is not a large enough market for products made of recycled materials, because the cost is still too high to make it competitively priced.
Source: 1998 campaign web site, jesseVentura.org/98campaign
, Nov 1, 1998
Teach environment in grade schools
Q: What is the best strategies to increase environmental understanding? A: [I am] a longtime environmentalist and member of the Isaac Walton League. Education starting in grade school is the best way to teach anyone about the environment. Regardless
of their location, schools can give students hands-on type of education about the environment and how it affects their lives.
Q: Do you support the ballot initiative for 40% of lottery proceeds to be dedicated to the Environmental Trust Fund?
A: Yes.
Source: Questionnaire from Environmental Education Advisory Board
, Oct 15, 1998
Too risky to have large feedlots near homes
Q: What do you consider the most pressing environmental issues in Minnesota right now and how do you plan to address those issues?A: The most pressing issue currently is the feedlot issue. I support the temporary moratorium that is in-place while the
studies are being undertaken. We need to know what effect the large feedlots are having on our air, soil, surface and ground water. At this point it is unknown if we are subjecting Minnesotans to significantly increased health risks by allowing large
feedlot operations to be constructed near homes. That is not an acceptable risk.
Other environmental issues that will need to be addressed in the near future include, Minnesota’s plan for managing the timber wolf, resolving the continuing
disputes in the BWCA and Voyager’s National Parks, clear-cutting forests, management of old growth forests, development of green corridors, and regulations involving personal watercraft and snowmobile usage.
Source: Questionnaire from Environmental Education Advisory Board
, Oct 15, 1998
Replace MTBE in gasoline with cleaner ethanol.
Ventura signed the Midwestern Governors' Conference resolution:
- WHEREAS, The Clean Air Act requires the use of an oxygenate in reformulated gasoline used in non-attainment areas; and
- WHEREAS, This requirement has resulted in important air quality benefits to our nation; and
- WHEREAS, The decision of petroleum refiners to use methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) rather than clean, renewable ethanol has resulted in serious degradation of groundwater in some regions; and
- WHEREAS, Eliminating the oxygenate requirement is not necessary to allow states to ban MTBE, and would harm efforts to achieve the air quality goals in the Clean Air Act; and
- WHEREAS, The United States Department of Agriculture has determined that ethanol can replace MTBE in reformulated gasoline nationwide within three years, without increases in price or supply disruption; and
- WHEREAS, The use of ethanol not only reduces toxins and improves air quality, it reduces America’s dependence on imported petroleum and thereby reduces our nation’s trade deficit by some $12 billion over the next ten years, increases farm income by an estimated $1 billion annually, and reduces farm program costs by creating important new markets for grain; now therefore be it
- RESOLVED, That the Midwestern Governors’ Conference encourages Congress to maintain its commitment to the federal Clean Air Act by retaining the oxygenate requirement of the reformulated gasoline program and by implementing standards that ensure the opportunity for the use of ethanol blended gasoline in any reformulated gasoline program, thereby preserving the natural environment, protecting the public health and reducing the nation’s dependence upon foreign petroleum.
Source: Resolution of Midwestern Governors' Conf. on Ethanol 00-MGC1 on May 25, 2000
More state autonomy on brownfields & Superfund cleanups.
Ventura adopted the National Governors Association position paper:
The Issue
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), otherwise known as Superfund, was created to clean up the worst hazardous waste sites across the country and to recoup expenses from responsible parties. Since the law was enacted in 1980, the Superfund program has caused significant amounts of litigation, while cleanup of hazardous waste sites has not been as fast or effective as the statute envisioned. In addition, states have not had the necessary tools or funding from the federal government to adequately clean up state sites. “Brownfields” sites—abandoned or undeveloped non-Superfund industrial or commercial sites under state jurisdiction—have gained increasing attention from Congress in recent years as passage of a comprehensive Superfund package has become increasingly unlikely.
NGA’s Position
NGA supports the reauthorization of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980. NGA policy calls for more opportunities for states to take authority for cleanup of National Priorities List (NPL) sites, increased autonomy and funding over brownfield sites, and the concurrence of a Governor before a site can be listed on the NPL.
Source: National Governors Association "Issues / Positions" 01-NGA15 on Aug 1, 2001
Support State Revolving Loan Fund for flexible Clean Water.
Ventura adopted the National Governors Association position paper:
The Issue
The Clean Water Act (CWA) has not been reauthorized since 1987. At that time, provisions were added to address nonpoint source pollution, pollution from diffuse sources such as runoff of fertilizers and pesticides, stormwater runoff, and sediment. Governors and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) disagree on the best approach to addressing the problem of nonpoint source pollution.
NGA’s Position
NGA supports the reauthorization of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 (the Clean Water Act). The Governors support an increased focus on watershed management planning, including funding for the State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF) and nonpoint source pollution programs. States should have the flexibility to develop plans for attaining federally approved water quality standards in impaired waters - in consultation with local government officials and stakeholders - and to allocate responsibility for cleanup among contributors. The TMDL regulations should be revised, by legislation if necessary, to give states adequate flexibility, funding, and time to address impaired waters.
Source: National Governors Association "Issues / Positions" 01-NGA9 on Aug 1, 2001
More EPA flexibility on interstate ozone.
Ventura signed the Midwestern Governors' Conference resolution:
- WHEREAS, the proposed action by EPA in November 1997 aimed at reducing the interstate transport of ozone appears to take a one-size-fits-all approach for determining the needed level of nitrogen oxide emission reductions in Midwestern states that goes beyond our contribution to poor air quality outside the Midwest; and
- WHEREAS, the proposed action by EPA also calls for a level of emission reductions that cannot be practically achieved in the proposed timeframe; and
- WHEREAS, the EPA will not have the scientific information sufficient to determine the ultimate appropriate level of nitrogen oxide emission reductions needed to assist in solving the nation’s ozone public health problems by September 1998, the scheduled date for finalizing its reduction plan; and
- RESOLVED, that the Midwestern Governors’ Conference believes that the EPA should fully consider options to the EPA’s nitrogen oxide reduction plan that are presented
by individual statesand groups of states which make substantial progress in solving the clean air problems in the short-term and assure that the final control actions in the longer-term are cost-effective, achievable, based on good science and represent sound public policy; and be it further
- RESOLVED, that the Midwestern Governors’ Conference believes that, with respect to regional haze in the Midwest and East, the EPA should allow the substantial programs currently underway to address public health issues and acid rain to progress and evaluate their effectiveness before determining any further reductions needed to continue to improve regional haze; and be it further
- RESOLVED, that the Midwestern Governors’ Conference believes that EPA should work cooperatively with all states and affected interests to craft clean air plans for interstate transport and regional haze that are in the best interest of all Americans.
Source: Resolution of Midwestern Governors' Conf. on Clean Air 98-MGC2 on May 12, 1998
Page last updated: Nov 23, 2011