July 1, 2009 - By Charlotte Cuthbertson, Epoch Times Staff (Jun 25, 2009)

NEW YORK - President Bill Clinton drew standing ovations from the Alliance crowd in New York Thursday.

"The thing I love about what you do, is that you do," Clinton told the crowd. "You don't just talk about it."

The Waterkeeper Alliance has 189 programs on six continents around the world, and their mission is to champion for clean water and strong communities. This year's topic was on climate change and ways to mitigate its impact on waterways. Clinton said he has long had an interest in keeping waterways pristine.

"I grew up in this national park where we had the government protecting our national water. You could see the bottom of the lake when I was a boy working there at summer camp, 35 to 40 feet, clear-as-day." Another lake, close by his childhood home was terribly polluted, he said. "Where I learned to drive a boat and ski, and where we all fished, was one of the most polluted lakes in America. President Carter started trying to clean them up, and when I became governor of my home state, we finished the clean-up of the lake I grew up on."

New Jobs Need to Be Green

Clinton said clean energy in relation to clean water was the key to moving forward. He said the U.S. needs a new job source every five to eight years, and this one needs to be green.

"This would be the greatest thing for the economy since WWII, except we wouldn't have to kill anyone," he said.

If the U.S., China, India, and Russia were to reach Japan's rates of energy efficiency, we would be 25 percent of where we need to be by 2025, Clinton said. The green retrofit planned for the Empire State Building will have the equivalent impact as taking 19,000 cars off the road.

Clinton Addresses Climate Change Skeptics

"If over 95 percent of all the informed opinion is on one side, and less than 5 percent is on the other, and the consequences of the decision are the future of the planet and what kind of life our children and grandchildren have, do you really want to take a chance on the 5 percent because he makes more money out if it today?"

"It’s better economics to do the right thing," Clinton said.

The U.K., Sweden, Denmark, and Germany are the only four countries that will definitely meet their Kyoto Protocol on climate change targets, Clinton said, with another four likely.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen late this year will look at a post-Kyoto agreement, he said.

Recession an Opportunity

Waterkeeper Alliance Chairman and Founder Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. introduced Clinton at the SUNY Maritime College.

Kennedy explained why he invited Clinton to speak at the 10-year anniversary Waterkeeper conference.

"President Clinton, during his years in office, was one of the most vigorous supporters, protectors of those laws, of the statutory framework that we use to protect the environment."

Kennedy said the annual meeting for the Alliance was important as many members worked in the wilderness in their respective countries.

"The recession really is an opportunity," he said. "An opportunity for people to switch to alternative energy."

Florida Waterways Stressed

Lewis Stinnette, Riverkeeper for the Indian River, Florida, said the sprawl of population growth is an enormous problem in the area.

"We have outgrown our ability to provide water and to dispose of effluent," he said.

Porpoises have been found with nicotine in their systems from cigarette butts that have been discarded into gutters, he said.

"We have the most diverse estuary in North America," said Stinnette. He added that he is hopeful there will be positive steps forward as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is repopulated with "Appointees who will serve public interest more than private interests - we'll see enforcement of law."

He said he is impressed with the way Clinton has continued to travel the world looking for solutions.

"Hopefully he can keep the public awareness of issues that have slid for too long."

Taking Ownership

Board of Trustees member of the Waterkeeper Alliance, Karen Lehner, was happy to see so many waterkeepers from around the world at the conference.

"When people take ownership over their waterways, they change," she said. "Water is everything, it is life. It is literally life. So stand up and honor it."

Lehner said one of the biggest faults is that people think they can't do anything. "But if we all take care of our backyard we'd have clean water."

Clean coal is a "dirty lie," she said. "It has its place now, but we need to transit away from it."

"The most important thing - we must have clean energy."