 |
 Under the guise of seeking new information of pollution, the Bush Administration is offering protection from regulatory fines for factory farms that produce large amounts of animal waste on the condition these farms allow their air pollution to be monitored.
The Associated Press courtesy of the Guardian, January 22, 2005
|
George W. Bush is calling for a federal legislation that would curbs asbestos lawsuits. One major company that would be a beneficiary of such curbs would be Halliburton -- once run by Vice President Dick Cheney -- which has paid out some $5 billion in cash and stock in asbestos suit settlements.
The Associated Press courtesy of Forbes, January 7, 2004
|
The Bush Administration plans on pushing the so-called "Clear Skies" air quality legislation that has been stalled in Conger since 2002. The legislation includes delaying by six years the implementation of health standards on smog and soot emissions and exempting smokestacks from rules requiring companies to install stricter pollution controls when upgrading their equipment.
The Washington Post, December 14, 2004
|
A longtime U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) biologist claims he was fired by the agency for publicly challenging the studies on the Florida panther's habitat and population used by the FWS when evaluating proposed development in Southwest Florida.
Environmental Media Services, November 8, 2004
|
Claiming the 2004 election was a "validation of [their] philosophy and agenda," the Bush Administration is moving forward with an agenda that includes significant changes to laws governing air pollution and endangered species. They are also looking to push the Bush energy plan which would open up the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve to oil production.
The New York Times courtesy of The Smirking Chimp, November 8, 2004
|
The Bush Administration is actively attempting to derail a report by the Arctic Council that would endorse worldwide policy changes designed to reduce global climate change.
The Washington Post, November 3, 2004
|
A project manager for the Bureau of Land Management claims he was fired for refusing to keep quiet about dangerous radioactive waste and other toxic materials contained on a Nevada's Anaconda copper mine site.
The Associated Press courtesy of MSNBC
|
The Bush Administration again refused to endorse the Kyoto protocol on global warming, and made no attempts at negotiating needed changes.
Agence France Presse courtesy of Common Dreams, October 23, 2004
|
The Bush Administration has fast-tracked gas and oil drilling on unspoiled federal lands in the American west by pressuring an increase of Bureau of Land Management drilling permits by 70%. Additionally, in 2001, George W. Bush created a White House task force charged with responding only to energy company concerns.
Los Angeles Times, August 25, 2004
|
The Bush Administration is pushing legislation that would allow the Department of Energy to keep radioactive waste that is in buried tanks at the nation's nuclear waste dumps, instead of having them removed for permanent storage. Many of these dumps are leaking contaminants into nearby ground water and waterways.
The Washington Post, June 1, 2004
|
After promising to "restore and renew America's national parks", George W. Bush has allotted $662 million in funding since entering office for the backlog of deferred maintenance that is needed. The General Accounting Office estimates that between $4 billion and $6.8 billion would be required.
Christian Science Monitor, May 25, 2004
|
The Bush Administration attempted to make changes in the National Organic Program standards that would have significantly weakened the regulations regarding pesticide and antibiotic use, and rendered the "organic" label meaningless.
San Francisco Chronicle, May 22, 2004
|
Superintendents of the National Park Service have been ordered to adhere to "talking points" provided them by the Bush Administration when speaking with the press.
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, May 13, 2004
|
Meat inspectors with the Agriculture Department in Texas have been handed what is in effect a "gag order" by the Bush Administration to keep them from speaking out to the press about mad cow disease.
United Press International, May 11, 2004
|
The Pentagon is attempting to get emissions exemptions from the Clean Air Act, as well as a redefinition the Superfund's solid waste rules that would exclude toxic materials such as chemical weapons and ammunition.
Newhouse News Service, April 21, 2004
|
The Bush Administration has been using deceptive imagery in a Forest Service pamphlet that advocates more intense logging in the Sierra Nevada range as a wildfire preventive. The photos meant to show the historical condition of a more naturally thin forests are in actuality of a stand in Montana that had been logged.
The Associated Press courtesy of the Los Angeles Times, April 11, 2004
|
An exemption from the resource Conservation and Recovery Act that will allow a Michigan company to inject toxic waste into underground wells has been approved by the Bush Administration.
The Environmental Protection Agency, March 2004
|
The Bush Administration is considering doing away with the Endangered Species Act requirement that the Environmental Protection Agency must confer with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service before approval of new pesticides.
The Associated Press courtesy of Truthout.com, January 28, 2004
|
The Bush Administration is attempting to force states faced with radioactive waste cleanup to accept a less stringent cleanup plan or risk losing $350 million in project funds. The Department of Energy's plan has already been rejected by the courts once.
The Associated Press courtesy of MSNBC, April 12, 2004
|
Logging restrictions of old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest have been eased by the Bush Administration, a "change that will allow forest managers to begin logging without first looking for rare plants and animals".
The Associated Press courtesy of Northwest Ecosystem Alliance, March 23, 2004
|
The former head of the National Mine Health and Safety Academy has accused the Bush Administration of covering up for a mining company's coal sludge accident which affected Kentucky and West Virginia water supplies. The mining company, Massey Energy, is a large contributor to the Republican Party.
Reuters courtesy of Environmental News Network, April 2, 2004
|
The Bush Administration recently sent emails to all Republican congressmen containing "talking points" to support George W. Bush on the environment for the upcoming Presidential election. One such point calls on congressmen to claim global warming remains an unproven theory.
The Observer, April 4, 2004
|
The Bush Administration continues to oppose widespread testing of the country's beef supply for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, saying there is "no scientific evidence to support such action".
Reuters courtesy of OFARM, March 29, 2004
|
After underfunding the National Park system by as much as $600 million, The Bush Administration is encouraging employees to refer to reductions in park services as "service level adjustment due to fiscal constraints" instead of "cuts".
The Associated Press courtesy of MSNBC, March 18, 2004
|
Longtime members of the EPA are claiming that the new rule on mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants was created by political appointees in the department, and that it reflected the position of the industry and White House.
The Los Angeles Times, March 16, 2004
|
The Agriculture Department has now admitted that its recall of meat from a cow suffering from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease was four times as large as previously reported.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer Reporter, March4, 2004
|
A Cheney donor and fundraiser in New Mexico has won the right to drill in that state's Otero Mesa grasslands after the Bush Administration eased restrictions of a Clinton-era ruling limiting gas and oil drilling on the site.
CNN, March 4, 2004
|
The Bush Administration has chosen to ignore its own Pentagon-commissioned report that called climate change a significant threat to world peace, and envisioned a time when anarchy could reign as countries fought to ensure access to food, water and energy supplies.
Agence France-Presse courtesy of SpaceDaily, February 24, 2004
|
The Union of Concerned Scientists has accused the Bush administration of manipulating and distorting scientific facts to create policies in the areas of "climate change, mercury emissions, reproductive health, lead poisoning in children, workplace safety and nuclear weapons" that fit with their political agenda.
Wired News, February 18, 2004
|
The Bush Adminstration has been accused of misleading the American public about a key fact in the recent mad cow case, when it made claims the animal in question was a sick "downer" animal, despite witnesses who reported that the animal was perfectly healthy in appearance.
The Washington Post, February 17, 2004
|
The new Bush budget proposes a 22% cut in Energy Department funding for programs that evaluate the long-term health and environmental consequences of energy use and development.
The Associated Press courtesy of The Mercury News, February 2, 2004
|
The Bush Administration refused to regulate automobile emissions such as carbon dioxide, claiming the Clean Air Act didn't give the EPA the authority to do so.
The Washington Post, August 28, 2003
|
The Bush Administration has chosen to ignore policy recommendations made by the international Arctic Council members to curb global climate change.
Nunatsiaq News, February 6, 2004
|
George W. Bush has proposed cutting $335 million in EPA funding for local governments to improve drinking and wastewater facilities.
The Associated Press courtesy of The Mercury News, February 2, 2004
|
The Bush Administration has announced plans to abandon the Hubble Space Telescope despite strong objections from NASA scientists and other astronomers.
The New York Times courtesy of The Contra Costa Times, February 8, 2004
|
The Bush Administration has broken the Bitterroot Burned Area Recovery agreement by logging large trees protected by the plan, and by using $18 million dollars earmarked for restoration for costs from other fires.
Environmental News Network courtesy of Forest Conservation, February 9, 2004
|
In spite of recent chemical and biological attacks in the nation's capitol and elsewhere, George W. Bush eliminated an $8.2 million EPA research program that examined ways to clean up buildings contaminated by such toxins.
The Miami Herald, February 6, 2004
|
New mercury pollution rules proposed by the Bush Administration were taken in large part - sometimes verbatim - from utility company memos suggesting changes.
The Washington Post, January 30, 2004
|
The Bush Administration is attempting to waive a number of safety regulations at federal nuclear facilities, in response to Congressional moves to enforce violations against facilities contractors.
The Associated Press courtesy of CNN, January 29, 2004
|
The Bush Administration has eased the old-growth forest logging requirements of the Clinton-era Forests with a Future initiative, allowing a quadrupling of logging of environmentally sensitive areas in the Sierra Nevada range.
Reuters courtesy of CNN, January 27, 2004
San Francisco Chronicle, January 23, 2004
|
Vice-president Dick Cheney recently had dinner and attended a hunting outing with Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, in spite of the fact that Scalia will soon be hearing arguments in a case involving Cheney and his refusal to turn over his secret energy task forces documents.
CNN, January 19, 2004
|
The Bush Administration attempted to prosecut the environmental group Greenpeace for boarding a ship importing mahogany into the United States. Charges were brought against the group under a never-used 1872 law designed to keep brothel owners from boarding docking sailing ships. A federal judge later aquitted the group.
The Guardian, May 4, 2004
GreenpeaceUSA
|
The White House is attempting to put control over the release of emergency public health, safety, and environmental declarations under the total control of its own Office of Management and Budget. They are also proposing that all technical and scientific evaluations of governmental rules and regulations be put under their jurisdiction.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, courtesy of Common Dreams, January 11, 2004
|
In continuing to allow the practice of mountaintop removal mining by the coal industry, the Bush Administration ignored the scientific finding of the governments own experts who determined the practice was disastrous for local stream and forest health.
Los Angeles Times, January 7, 2004
|
The Bush Administration has ignored the scientific conclusions reached by a National Research Council review they themselves requested on the health risks of using treated sewage sludge as fertilizer.
Associated Press courtesy of ABC News, December 15, 2003
|
Even though George W. Bush and Dick Cheney promised Nevadans that they would only designate Yucca Mountain as a national depository for nuclear waste if "sound science" deemed the location fit, Bush approved that plan without a final report of Yucca's suitability.
Reno News & Review, November 27, 2003
Review-Journal, May 10, 2000
|
New rules put in place by the Bush Administration have revived a Civil War-era regulation that could threaten some 17 million acres of national parks with road building and off-road activities.
National Parks Conservation Association, March, 2003
Salt Lake Tribune, December 25, 2004
|
In recent months the Bush Administration has blocked over 200,000 acres of National Park lands from being designated as protected wilderness areas.
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, September 8, 2003
|
The Bush Administration has relaxed Clinton-era mining rules, making it possible for gold and hardrock mining companies to dump more toxic waste on public lands.
Associated Press via the Billings Gazette
|
Violating the Freedom of Information Act, the Bush Administration for six months refused to hand over to the press USDA documents concerning test results for Mad Cow disease in American herds.
United Press International, December 24, 2003
|
300,000 acres of Alaska's Tongass National Forest, previously protected by Clinton era regulations, have been opened up by the Bush Administration to logging and development.
Philidelphia Inquirer, June 10, 2003
|
George W. Bush continues to push for opening up America's National Parks and sensitive wilderness areas -- including the Alaska National Wildlife Area -- to mining, drilling and logging interests.
Time/CNN, January 1, 2003
CNN, February 23, 2002
CNN, August 18, 2003
CNN, March 23, 2001
|
The number of polluters charged and convicted of violating environmental protection laws has dropped by some 58% under George W. Bush.
Knight Rider courtesy of Miami Herald, December 8, 2003
|
A chapter on the serious impact of global warming was censored from the 2003 State of the Environment Report by the Bush Administration.
CBS News, June 19, 2003
|
The Bush administration is proposing far-reaching changes to conservation policies that would allow hunters, circuses and the pet industry to kill, capture and import animals on the brink of extinction in other countries.
The Washington Post courtesy of The State, October 11, 2003
|
Ignoring environmental science and overwhelming public opposition, the Bush Administration overturned the ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park.
Duluth News Tribune, November 8, 2003
|
The Bush administration is attempting to get a broad exemption of the 1987 Montreal Protocol for the ozone-depleting pesticide methyl bromide.
The New York Times, November 10, 2003
|
President Bush's and the Defense Department's "Readiness and Range Preservation Initiative" has exempted the military from important protections provided by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act.
The Associated Press
The Associated Press, November 8, 2003
|
The "Healthy Forest Restoration Act" signed into law by George Bush will not only pave the way for increased logging and road building into sensitive wilderness areas, but removes a key safeguard for endangered species, while doing little to address major, causative components of wildfires.
RTNDF, March 19, 2003
|
The White House edited out information in a post-9/11 EPA reports that showed unhealthy air quality levels near the site of the Twin Towers.
OMB Watch, August 25, 2003
|
The Bush Administration is attempting to rescind an earlier EPA ruling that said mercury and nickel emissions from power plants were a public health menace which required a sharp reduction of the toxic pollutants.
The Washington Post, December 2, 2003
|
