Wait a minute now. Nixon is getting a raw deal here. He may not have been a TreeHugger, but he did the right things at the right time, and he did more than just establish the EPA.

He signed NEPA and the Endangered Species Act into law. In terms of who's had the most effect on the environmental state of our nation, I think Nixon reigns supreme (though, of course, he's not my favorite president by any stretch.)

This goes to show though, great things can be done by conservatives in the right position (particularly a liberal senate.)

Yeah, Nixon is getting shortriffed here. I'm not a Republican, but by most historical analyses, he is considered among the greenest of presidents. From clean air and clean water acts, "no other chief executive approved as much important environmental legislation." Nixon approved the landmark National Environmental Policy Act and legislation on clean air, national parks, endangered species, pesticides, coastal protection, and ocean dumping restrictions. As Russell Train put it, it was the Nixon era that "put into place the basic principles and framework of environmental law" So, ya'll better brush up on your history. The bad guys weren't always so bad + the good guys ain't always so good.

Clinton did nothing worthwhile for the environment while POTUS except for lipservice. Aside from not trying to get Kyoto ratified(your statement is in total error) he got Al so depressed that he is now morbidly obese and has caused the clearing of countless rainforest land just to provide the parsley for his numerous daily plates of food.

what no mention of ronald reagan!

President George W. Bush

- Created a 91 million acre marine park protecting 70% of the U.S. coral reefs home to over 7,000 species.

- Provided funding for advanced fuel cell research beyond the economic means of U.S. automobile companies.

- Lives in one of the greenest homes of any modern U.S. president.

- Telecommutes from home more than any other U.S. president in history.

President George W. Bush

White House announces regulatory freeze (01/20/01)
New raw-sewage rules delayed by Bush regulatory freeze (01/20/01)
Bush seeks to open Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil development (01/20/01)
Administration seeks to weaken efficiency standards for air conditioners (02/12/01)
EPA delays, then upholds, new rule protecting wetlands (02/15/01)
Bush administration to try to adjust the boundaries of 19 new national monuments (02/20/01)
President nominates J. Steven Griles as deputy secretary of Interior (03/09/01)
Bush retreats from campaign promise to reduce carbon pollution (03/13/01)
Bush administration seeks to roll back Roadless Area Conservation Plan (03/16/01)
Bush administration settles pesticides lawsuit brought by NRDC against EPA (03/19/01)
Bush withdraws new arsenic-in-drinking-water standard (03/20/01)
Bush administration delays hard-rock mining regulations that protect watersheds (03/21/01)
Bush administration rejects Kyoto Protocol (03/28/01)
Bush administration suspends the "contractor responsibility rule" (03/30/01)
Bush supports U.N. treaty on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) (04/09/01)
Bush seeks to relax requirements of Endangered Species Act (04/09/01)
Yellowstone snowmobile ban goes into effect, but perhaps not for long (04/23/01)
Gale Norton nominates William G. Myers III as solicitor for Department of the Interior (04/24/01)
Interior will not reintroduce grizzly bears into Idaho, Montana wildlands (04/25/01)
EPA drops objections to Florida rule that undermines Clean Water Act protections (04/26/01)
Cheney sketches out a misguided energy policy (04/30/01)
NRDC's John Adams to President Bush: Don't take the teeth out of the Clean Air Act (05/07/01)
Bush administration won't release information on industry participants in Cheney energy task force (05/10/01)
BLM fails to comply with agreement to protect threatened desert tortoises (05/12/01)
Agriculture secretary undercuts forest management process (05/17/01)
President Bush releases his energy plan; NRDC offers a responsible alternative (05/17/01)
Bush administration formally suspends arsenic-in-drinking-water protections; NRDC rips decision (05/22/01)
EPA moves ahead with Clinton-era rule that will reduce haze over wildlands (05/29/01)
Bush pledges improvements to maintenance of national parks (05/31/01)
EPA announces final radiation standards for Yucca Mountain waste repository (06/06/01)
BLM upholds "non-controversial" portion of hard rock mining rules (06/15/01)
Bush will not change fuel efficiency standards (06/19/01)
U.S. Department of Energy sued over final rule on air conditioners (06/19/01)
Bush outlines an 'all talk, no action' approach to global warming (07/13/01)
White House favors limiting president's authority to protect federal lands (07/17/01)
Bush seeking to weaken federal environmental enforcement (07/23/01)
Norton balks at defending wildlife in the face of local opposition (07/23/01)
NRDC praises global warming agreement; calls on Bush to reconsider (07/23/01)
Bush unlikely to offer alternative global warming plan (07/26/01)
EPA wants to scrap air pollution regulations for power plants (07/26/01)
Army Corps of Engineers to weaken wetlands protections (08/08/01)
Tongass and other forests open to roadbuilding, logging (08/12/01)
EPA postpones action on power plants, expected to favor limited approach (08/14/01)
Bush administration appeals federal judge's decision to ban drilling off California's coast (08/17/01)
Forest Service stalls roadless protection, allows logging to continue (08/22/01)
Norton reneges on agreement to protect endangered desert tortoise (08/27/01)
Bush administration seeks to fast-track missile defense program, but coalition sues to force drafting of environmental impact statements (08/28/01)
Bush administration considers disposing of radioactive waste in consumer products (08/28/01)
Bush backing away from pledge to clean up federal facilities (09/07/01)
USFS to reduce public participation (09/20/01)
Corps official uses terrorist attacks as excuse to weaken environmental protection (09/21/01)
White House rule change could inflict "paralysis by analysis" on regulatory process (09/24/01)
GAO slams Forest Service for poor fiscal management (10/01/01)
Forest chief asks Norton to end Oregon mining ban (10/02/01)
EPA considers standards that could slow cleanup of PCBs in the Hudson River (10/04/01)
Norton Guts Tough Mining Protections (10/25/01)
EPA issues an arsenic-in-tap-water standard higher than that recommended by public health advocates (10/31/01)
Corps of Engineers ignores "no net loss" wetlands policy (11/02/01)
Bush signs Interior bill that boosts spending, but includes harmful riders (11/05/01)
Bush administration shutting down Everglades restoration office (11/06/01)
Forest Service makes hasty salvage logging decision, forces court battle (11/27/01)
White House plans deep cuts in environmental spending (11/28/01)
EPA may lift ban on human testing of pesticides (11/28/01)
Voyageurs National Park reopening areas to snowmobiles (11/29/01)
Snowmobile ban unlikely to be implemented in Yellowstone and Grand Teton (12/10/01)
Interior calls for fiscal reform of mining law (12/10/01)
NRDC sues Department of Energy to expose Cheney energy task force secrets (12/11/01)
DOE weakens standards for Yucca nuclear storage (12/14/01)
USFS guts protections for undeveloped forest lands (12/14/01)

That's just his first year. Just today his Department of Interior made proposals to start offshore drilling again in sensitive areas.

What an eco-champion he is. I mean, he TELECOMMUTES, everyone - more than Abe Lincoln did.

Every one of those listed in the long Bush response was corrected maanged by Bush. Just like teh health care bill that he recently vetoed was filled with pork barrel politics. Hillary proposed a 1 million dollar museum for Woodstock. Um, that is not an education benefit, but the backers of this bill are hemp munchers and illegal contributors to her campaign.
BUSH WAS RIGHT ON EVERY BILL HE PASSED AND VETOED. WAY TO GO BUSH!

BUSH WAS RIGHT ON EVERY BILL HE PASSED AND VETOED. HE IS PERFECTION ITSELF. I LOVE HIM. IN A MANLY WAY.

GOD BLESS AMURIKAH.

nixon is a better example of the power of green activism from the people than a green presidency.

just ask yourself this: would nixon have signed NEPA or the Endangered Species Act if he was not forced to do it?

short answer: no.

keep up the good fight.