SIERRA CLUB PICKS WORST BUSH ADMINISTRATION ENVIRONMENTAL EXPLOITS OF 2003

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http://www.sierraclub.org/pressroom/releases/pr2003-12-23.asp

 

December 23 , 2003CONTACT:

Eric Antebi 415-977-5747

 

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SIERRA CLUB PICKS WORST BUSH ADMINISTRATION ENVIRONMENTAL EXPLOITS OF 2003

 

Tripling allowable levels of mercury pollution, shifting the burden of toxic

clean up from polluters to taxpayers, and undoing rules for cleaning up

America's dirtiest power plants topped a laundry list of Bush administration

exploits to weaken decades environmental progress in 2003.

 

" The Bush administration is systematically turning back 30 years of

environmental progress, " said Carl Pope, Sierra Club executive director. " You

really have to go back to the McKinley administration in the late 19th century

to find so many gratuitous giveaways to special interests looking to exploit our

air, water, and natural areas. Americans want a 21st century administration that

can deliver forward-thinking environmental solutions. "

 

The Sierra Club surveyed rs of RAW, the organization's twice-weekly

electronic newsletter tracking the Bush administration's environmental record,

to determine the worst-of-the-worst decisions affecting public health and the

environment. Mercury pollution, toxic cleanup, and soot and smog registered as

the greatest concerns, from a list that also included oil drilling on sensitive

lands, a secret amnesty deal for giant factory farms, and lax environmental

enforcement, among others.

 

The survey also found that the public is largely unaware of the broad scope of

the Bush administration's assaults on the nation's air, water and lands, Pope

said. Many respondents expressed surprise that they haven't heard more about the

administration's environmental record from mainstream media.

 

" Trying to limit my vote to three big ones is beyond difficult, " wrote one RAW

reader in a typical response. " This administration is doing more damage than the

Reagan & Bush Sr. ones did. And I didn't think that was even possible! Thank you

for making the effort to educate Americans about what this administration is

really doing to this country! "

 

The full list of 2003 Bush administration actions, ranked according to the

survey response, appears below. To to RAW, visit

http://www.sierraclub.org/raw.

 

1. MERCURY RISING - Issued public health warnings to pregnant women and children

about mercury after announcing policy changes to triple amount of mercury

pollution allowed from power plants.

 

2. SUPER DUPED - Became first administration to support shifting burden of

Superfund toxic waste cleanups from polluters to taxpayers.

 

3. SOOTY SANTA - Dismantled provision of Clean Air Act that requires oldest,

dirtiest power plants and refineries to curb soot and smog pollution.

 

4. BACK IN BLACKOUT - Proposed a national Energy Bill that did nothing to reduce

dependence on foreign oil, repair or address antiquated electricity grid, or

protect special places from oil and gas drilling.

 

5. DRILLING WILDERNESS - Opened nearly 9 million pristine acres in Northwest

Alaska to the oil and gas industry for exploration and drilling.

 

6. STONEWALLING, BIG TIME (tied)- Continued to withhold documents from secret

meetings between Bush/Cheney Energy Task Force and energy industry lobbyists.

 

6. DON'T AX, DON'T TELL (tied) - Promoted a wildfire policy that expanded

commercial logging in the backcountry but did little to protect people where

they live.

 

7. NEXT STOP, SHINOLA - Allowed untreated sewage to be blended with treated

sewage, cut funding for local sewage treatment, and didn't require health

officials to warn public about sewage in water.

 

8. CRITICAL CONDITION - Obliterated the process of critical habitat designation

for imperiled wildlife under the Endangered Species Act.

 

9. COP OFF - Continued pattern of willful negligence for enforcement of even

basic clean water and clean air laws.

 

10. POST 9/11 LIES - Discovered by EPA Inspector General to have lied about post

9/11 environmental health hazards near Ground Zero.

 

11. ROAD WARRIOR - Expanded the legal loophole that allows obnoxious road claims

through federally protected wilderness, national parks, and public lands.

 

12. HOG WASH - Secretly negotiated backroom deal to exempt giant animal

factories from laws governing air and toxic pollution.

 

13. POLLUTED LOGIC - Refused to classify industrial carbon emissions, linked to

global warming, as an official pollutant under the Clean Air Act.

 

14. HOT AIR - Proposed fantasy hydrogen power initiative to improve auto fuel

efficiency rather than promoting more proven technologies like gas-electric

hybrids.

 

15. ESTATE TOX - Ended a 25-year ban on the sale of PCB-laden real estate.

 

 

 

 

 

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