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Date: 28 March, 2001
Last June during his run for office, Mr. Bush stood on the Nevada shore of
Lake Tahoe and pledged that he would be a "steward of the Earth." Our new
president has now been on the playing field for almost two months,
sufficient time for a performance evaluation.
Entering office in January, and kicking off his tenure with a decision to
eliminate support for international programs focusing on family planning and
population control, our leader has set in motion a flurry of additional
measures which generate dismay for those with a genuine interest in caring
for Earth. Most recently,
- Having pledged to curb emissions from power plants, reducing carbon
dioxide entering the atmosphere, Mr. Bush has pulled back his commitment to
establish mandatory reduction targets.
- Coupled with relaxation of controls for carbon dioxide emissions, Mr. Bush
has left no doubt about his opposition to the Kyoto Protocol - the world's
best hope for fighting climatic mayhem - by avoiding leadership in
international talks on global warming
- Mr. Bush, failing to give priority to the global energy economy, is now
returning campaign favors to the U.S. petroleum industry by seeking
short-sighted economic gain from tapping oil and national gas reserves in
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
- The President has also decided to delay a ban on road construction and
logging in a third of all federal forest lands and suspended toughening
rules for mining on public lands.
- Mr. Bush has rescinded a Clinton administration regulation that would have
reduced the allowable amount of arsenic in drinking water.
Mr. Bush's failure to honor his promise to cut carbon dioxide emissions, on
the heels of a March 6 memo to the president from EPA chief Christie Whitman
stating that "[This] is an issue that is resonating at home; we need to
appear to be engaged," clearly underscores his allegiance not to the public
good but to the corporate good. No surprise, we can say, since the oil
industry is well represented in Washington, boasting G.W. himself, VP Cheney
and Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, all texas oilman.
Mr. Bush needs to hear "how he's doing" from other than the corporate
community. His environmental policy proposals to date can only be classified
as Bush-league.
Act today on this EcoAlert, and thank you for your environmental responsibility.
American P.I.E.
Public Information on the Environment
124 High Street, P.O. Box 340
South Glastonbury, CT 06073-0340
Telephone: 1-800-320-APIE(2743)
E-Mail: Info@AmericanPIE.org
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