Saturday, April 21, 2007

Still Mad After All These Years

For the record, I am still mad that President Bush cut and run from the Kyoto Protocol treaty to reduce global warming.

I'm mad that Bush cut and run from campaign promises about the environment:
By March 2001, the president had officially walked away from the Kyoto Protocol. He had jettisoned his campaign pledge to control CO{-2} emissions from power plants. The United States had pulled out of all debate and negotiations with the rest of the world on global warming.
I'm mad that he shelved plans to establish a biodiversity center.

I'm mad that the EPA exempted pesticides from the Clean Water Act.

I'm mad that the EPA’s new air quality standards endanger public health.

And, I'm mad that Bush named the retired chief of Exxon to chart America's course for cleaner energy use.

I'm mad the bees are disappearing.
Bill Maher on the Huffington Post:

Here's a quote from Albert Einstein: "if the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man." Well, guess what? The bees are disappearing...Sunday is Earth Day. Please educate someone about the birds and the bees, because without bees, humans become the canary in the coal mine, and we make bad canaries because we're already such sheep.
The polar bears are mad, too.

Hell, even the Republicans have gotten mad:
Russell Train, a Republican, was the EPA’s second chief under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. But he said Bush’s record is so dismal he’s casting his presidential vote for Democrat John Kerry in November.

"It’s almost as if the motto of the administration in power today in Washington is not environmental protection, but polluter protection," he said. "I find this deeply disturbing."
He's been using public resources (our taxes) to fund junk science to support policies that make his corporate friends even wealthier, and I'm sick of it.

The Natural Resources Defense Council has compiled his environmental record through 2005. They conclude:

As for the Bush administration, it has shown again and again that it will cater to industries that put America's health and natural heritage at risk; there is little doubt that more attempts to undermine environmental enforcement and weaken key programs will be made.
In his own words:

"We need an energy bill that encourages consumption."

-President Bush, Sept. 23, 2002, Trenton, New Jersey, speech

And in the words of his minions:

"If we are saying that the loss of species in and of itself is inherently bad -- I don't think we know enough about how the world works to say that."

-Interior Department Assistant Secretary Craig Manson, appointed by President Bush to position overseeing the Endangered Species Act, Los Angeles Times, Nov. 12, 2003


Remember, we share one planet...


Biodiversity, not just a good idea; it's Life.
(Click the forward arrow to advance the slide show.)

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Cross-posted at Ice Station Tango.

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