Bush On The Environment - Wrong And Proud Of It Until The Very End - HuffPo

[hatrack]

EDIT

Despite some signs of optimism from other G8 leaders -- several of which claimed the Hokkaido summit was a clear "breakthrough" -- there is little doubt that any substantive talks over emission cuts will have to wait until the next president takes office. The fact that world leaders and the press consider Bush's "consideration" of (very) modest emission cuts a sign of clear progress is depressing enough; the fact that they might actually believe him is a whole other story.

Back in the U.S., where we've already born witness to some fairly reprehensible actions on the part of his administration, we've only seen a continuation of the Bush "take no prisoners" approach to greenhouse gas regulation. Though by no means a surprise, his administration's stewardship on the environment arguably hit a new low (and that's saying a lot) when it was revealed that the White House Office of Management and Budget simply refused to open an e-mail sent to it by the EPA outlining the health consequences of climate change. Or take the Vice President's (successful) attempts to remove the sections of CDC director Julie Gerberding's Senate testimony alleging a link between climate change and human health.

It was especially fitting that the EPA's final action on climate change was... to take no action. Thumbing their collective noses at a recent Supreme Court decision which directed the federal government to regulate carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act, the administration, led in this instance by EPA head (and Bush lapdog) Stephen Johnson, said it would seek public comment over the next few months before taking any meaningful action (i.e. pass the buck down to the next guy).

You know things are bad when even loyal surrogates feel the need to speak out in favor of greenhouse gas regulation on the pages of The Washington Post. Or when staunch supporters like California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger call your environmental policy "bogus." So, please, let's drop any pretenses that Bush may have finally come around to embracing serious climate change legislation. His recognition of the crisis (if he even really does recognize it) comes years too late, and his actions, or non-actions, continue to speak volumes. Given his abysmal overall record, it's hard to assign the "worst" label to any one of his botched policies. In light of the many grave impacts climate change is expected to have (and already has had) on our planet, I would make the case that Bush's stand on the environment qualifies as his worst failure -- one which, unfortunately, will long outlive his legacy.

EDIT/END

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeremy-jacquot/bush-on-the-environment-w_b_112576.html

[pscot]

1. It's his attitude that separates George Bush

from your average, garden variety asshole. He knows he's an asshole and he's takes an arrogant pleasure in it.

[stuntcat]

2. and he maintains he's a religious man

:eyes: