January 2001 Volume 30, Number 4 National environmental organizations are taking solace from the fact that Governor Whitman s record is not nearly as bad as that of George W. Bush s nominee to run the Interior Department. Unlike Gale Norton, Whitman is no disciple of James Watt, who tried to take the federal government out of the land preservation business. So maybe she won t be so bad running the Environmental Protection Administration. New Jersey environmentalists caution that Whitman s seven-year record warrants wariness and skepticism.
New Jersey is the most congested and crowded state in the nation.
Formerly a gray industrial place with dead rivers and unbreathable air, it is now home to proportionately more research and clean industry than any state. For example, no issue is more certain to win strong voter support than a Green Acres bond issue. The Whitman legacy is more ambiguous. There is nothing in her performance to suggest that she brings the instinct of a fighter for tougher environmental regulation or that she will act as some kind of green Trojan Horse inside the Big Corporate atmosphere of a Bush administration. Governor Whitman early on pledged to do something about suburban sprawl.