Continuing a feature that we inaugurated in the Spring ‘02 issue of The Green Elephant, Republicans for Environmental Protection hereby recognizes the second of what we hope will be a long series of glimmers coming from the Bush administration. This glimmer was proposed by a REP member in South Carolina.

Glimmer #2:

President Bush did America a great service by taking action to block oil and gas drilling near the Everglades and off Florida’s Gulf Coast. It was almost like a flashback to the good old days when GOP leaders were conservation champions and fought to protect the nation’s air, land and waters from pollution threats.

Thanks to the president’s action, 400,000 acres of land in Big Cypress National Preserve and two national wildlife refuges nearby will be off limits to new oil production. Pristine coastal waters and spectacular Panhandle beaches are safe from the risks of oil and gas drilling. REP America strongly urges Congress to approve the necessary funding to finalize these worthy conservation measures.

REP hopes that the national praise for the president’s action will encourage the administration to establish a new pattern of good stewardship. There are many places that are just as special as the Everglades and Big Cypress—where oil and gas drilling are equally inappropriate and unpopular with local residents. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the California coast, and the Rocky Mountain Front are three such places.

The kudos that the administration earned for its Florida decisions prove that conservation is both wise public policy and good politics—and that it can win President Bush some much-needed support within the conservation community. More such decisions would help him and our party in future elections. We hope the lesson sticks.