President Bush, accompanied by his wife Barbara, emerged from a helicopter and approached a microphone on the runway tarmac to make a statement before leaving for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. President Bush stressed the balance between environment and development in the name of the U.N. conference, and lauded his administration’s environmental programs including his forest preservation proposal. Following his statement, the president and his wife ascended the gangplank to Air Force One to go to Rio de Janeiro.