Ecolocation; June 1993; Scientific American Magazine; by Tim Beardsley; 3 Page(s)

When President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore won the election last November, environmentalists cheered. They saw Gore, the author of a best-selling book on the environment, as one of their own and a dependable ally. Chemical-based industry, traditionally at loggerheads with the green lobby, feared the worst. Both sides have been surprised in the first few months of the Clinton regime.

Certainly, the environment is assuming a larger profile. For the first time, it has an advocate on the staff of the National Security Council, in the person of Eileen B. Claussen, a former official at the Environmental Protection Agency. In another gesture that could also be of more than symbolic importance, a special commission will scrutinize the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement. And green types were gratified that the president¿s proposed-- and now failed--"economic stimulus package" included spending on water treatment plants. Many of the administration¿s appointments have also pleased the environmental lobby.