The administrator of the U-S Environmental Protection Commission’s visiting an Iowa children’s hospital today as part of her campaign to win approval of the President’s “Clear Skies Initiative.” E-P-A administrator Christine Todd Whitman says the President’s plan would remove 35-MILLION tons of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and mercury from the air in the next decade. Whitman says the pollutants cause a number of health problems, notably asthma. she says asthma is one of the leading health problems that causes kids to miss school.Whitman says many of Iowa’s air pollution problems come from other states and that’s why the national initiative is so important. Whitman spoke with Radio Iowa shortly before she began her mid-afternoon tour of Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines.This past week, a bipartisan group of Iowa legislators unveiled a series of proposals that’d toughen Iowa standards for large-scale livestock operations. Whitman says federal standards are being developed.Whitman’s family raises pigs, sheep, chickens and cattle on their farms and she says she’s quite familiar with the smell of manure. Whitman, who was Governor of New Jersey before she became part of the Bush Administration, visited Des Moines on Friday afternoon.
Iowa's Radio News Network
