CONCORD, N.H.--Environmentalism and economic strength aren't contradictory concepts--in fact, concern for natural resources will help American businesses compete in the world, presidential hopeful Bill Clinton says.

"There is not ultimately any conflict, nor can there ever be, between preserving our most precious resources and promoting opportunities for our people," he said at a forest preservation society's headquarters.

The Arkansas governor, a Democrat, said Tuesday that American business is suffering for its inefficient use of power as German and Japanese industries produce far more in relation to the amount of energy each uses.

"If you look at the differentials between American energy use and all of our competitors, they are massive," he said. "It is nutty to continue this."

One plant in his state took the lesson to heart, increasing profits 100 percent over the last year solely by conserving energy, he said.

"They didn't increase their price, they didn't increase their output, they didn't lower their costs except for energy conservation," he said.

"You're talking about...huge savings that can be plowed back into productivity and jobs and income for our people," Clinton said. "If we do what I recommend...you won't have to worry for foreseeable future about building more nuclear power plants or relying on more oil."

Arkansas made great strides in this year's legislative session, he said, passing environmental bills including a comprehensive solid waste plan and "bad actor" law to crack down on polluters cited in other states who want to do business in Arkansas.

"Those are the kinds of competitive pressures that really bear down on you when there ought to be a national standard and there's not," he said.

Clean Air Act

Nationally, Clinton said he would like to see "a strong Clean Air Act... firmly and fairly administered," as well as changes in policy "from a reliance on imported oil and oil developed in environmentally sensitive areas to far greater reliance on internationally competitive rates of conservation and the development of clean and plentiful and inexpensive natural gas."

The environment is not the only area where there's been a breakdown in national leadership, he said.

In a visit with about 130 Franklin High School students in Franklin, Clinton said the collapse of the Soviet Union should warn American leaders to pay attention to trouble at home before looking for it elsewhere.

The Soviet Union "collapsed from internal economic and political failure, because there was no food on the shelves, the factories didn't produce and the system didn't work," he said.

"What does that mean? National security begins at home. It's our very ability to take care of our own people that gives us the strength to stand up for what we want around the world."

Under Presidents Reagan and Bush, the United States has become "the only country in the world that doesn't understand you have to have national leadership and a national program if you want to lead the world economically," he said.

For the Needy

Clinton said Bush has neglected needy Americans by opposing a bill approved by Congress to extend unemployment benefits for 20 weeks.

"He says he doesn't want to do it because it would break the budget and cost $6 billion," Clinton said. "But he's already been willing to spend more than twice that on foreign aid."

In the long run, curing the economy calls for better national trade policies, national investment in new technology and nationwide educational reform, he said.

"Even if we create new economic opportunities, they can only be seized by young people who are educated to do it," Clinton said. "You are growing up in a world where what you can earn depends on what you can learn."

That means not only in school, but in college and through job training all through a person's work life, he said.

"It's not only important what you learn in high school, it's important that you take out of here the ability to learn in your lifetime," Clinton said. "My job is to create opportunities. Your job is to seize them."