This Bush administration has a growing credibility gap maybe even a credibility chasm on environmental policy. The President has lost the trust of the American people when it comes to the environment.

Time after time we're told corporations should have freedom from pesky job safety regulations environmental protections and labor standards - giving working people the freedom to be crushed in collapsing mines choke on filthy air and get paid too little to live on.

There are more effective ways of tackling environmental problems including global warming proliferation of plastics urban sprawl and the loss of biodiversity than by treaties top-down regulations and other approaches offered by big governments and their dependents.

My efforts in Congress are guided by the belief that environmental preservation and restoration are a critical part of the legacy we leave to future generations.

During my travels in Iraq Israel Gaza Brazil Indonesia Japan Europe and all over the United States I have seen and heard the voices of people who want change. They want the stabilization of the economy education and healthcare for all renewable energy and an environmental vision with an eye on generations to come.

Fracking is doable if there's full disclosure of all chemicals used. Secondly science dictates the policy rather than politics. Third there's collaboration between environmental groups and the natural gas industry.

And I know that the younger generation is doing things that are so ingenious. And for them it's not a matter of a political belief or an environmental stance. It's really just common sense.

Some types of environmental restoration projects are well-known restored wetlands for instance or coal mine reclamation projects. Recently though larger dam removal projects have started a number of them in Washington state.

In every case the environmental hazards were made known only by independent scientists who were often bitterly opposed by the corporations responsible for the hazards.

I am on the board of corporations who contribute both to environmental problems and their solutions. And I am on the NGO side: the Earth Council and other organizations.