U.S. Environmental Policies - European Journalists

May 12-26, 2004, Washington, D.C., Wyoming, California
Contact: Washington Foreign Press Center Program Officer: Elaine Papazien
Telephone: 202-504-6318, Email: papazianes2@state.gov

This tour for European journalsits highlighted the complex relationship between respect for the environment and a healthy economy.  Europeans are among the worst skeptics of U.S. environmenta policies and the tour sought to demonstrate the steps that are being taken at the federal, state and local level to balance policies on emissions, wildlife, nuclear energy and forest stewardship between the public and private sectors.

The tour began in Washignton, DC, with an interview with Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science Assistant Secretary John Turner as well as officials at the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. 

The Los Angeles Foreign Press Center assisted in planning interviews and site visists int he San Francisco Bay area and in Sacramento.  The Europeans were particularly interested in the stringent emissions control requirements in California.

Other visits of particular interest included a hydrogen car development site, a Wyoming wildlife and forest stewardship organization and the Hoover Dam water use project.  The desert environment at Lake Mead was a special stop for the European visitors as there is no such environment in Europe. 

Following the wide range of interviews arranged by the Foreign Press Center, the journalists expressed an increased understanding of the complexities of environmental issues in the U.S. particularly on issues such as emissions, global warming and nuclear energy.