Ruckelshaus at K-School

Presidential candidates should discuss chronic issues such as the environment in more depth than they have in past campaigns, William D. Ruckelshaus, founding administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said last night.

Ruckelshaus, currently an environmental adviser to President-elect Ronald Reagan, told a crowd of 100 at the Kennedy School that Reagan's failure to discuss environmental issues adequately during the campaign will lessen his ability to improve the Clean Air Act, which comes up for amendment next year.

If President Carter had focused more on the energy problem at the beginning of his term, Ruckelshaus added, "the long term political benefit would have made his re-election inevitable."

"I think what is at stake is freedom itself. Can free society cope with modern complexities? So far I am concerned we haven't done very well," Ruckelshaus said.