Wednesday, March 19, 2003
This is from a mailer a friend of mine gave me from
Friends of the EarthBush at Midterm: A Chronology of Environmental DestructionInauguration Day, January 2001Within hours of becoming president, bush freezes action on former President Clinton's "roadless" policy, which would have protected 58.5 million acres of national forests from encroachment by vehicles.
February 2001President Bush nominates Gale Norton as Secretary of the Interior. Norton formerly worked with one of the most anti-environmental organizations in the country, the Mountain States Legal Foundation.
March 2001Bush abandons his campaign to regulate power plant emissions of carbon dioxide, a major cause of global warming. He also calls for "more study" on safe amounts of arsenic allowed in drinking water.
April 2001The Bush administration begins negotiations with the snowmobile industry to reverse a ban on snowmobiles in Yellowsone National Park. The administration announces it will weaken the requirement to make air conditioners more efficient.
May 2001Bush releases his energy plan, calling for increased reliance on oil, coal and nuclear power, an dcutting the budget for energy efficiency research and alternative power sources by nearly a third.
June 2001Interior Secretary Norton abandons plans to reintroduce grizzly bears in the Norther Rockies in favor or an official position of "no action".
July 2001EPA Administrator Christine Whitman goes to federal court to seek and 18-month delay on a ruling under the Clean Water act requiring states to develop plans for pollution runoff.
August 2001The House of Representatives passes the Bush energy proposal, including plans to drill for oil in the Arctiv National Wildlife Refuge.
September 2001Bush presses congress for an enormous ($15 billion) bail-out package for the airline industry but lets more modest proposals for energy efficient rail projects languish by the wayside.
October 2001The administration revokes the Interior Department's power to veto mining permits, even if the mining would cause "substantial and irreparable harm: to environmental, cultural or scientific resources. The department itself reverses key requirements for mining operations.
November 2001The Army Corps of Engineers unilaterally issues guidelines that allow developers to severely undermine a national policy of "no net loss" of critical bogs, swamps and coastal marshes around the country.
December 2001Bush and Republicans in Congress fight to pass and "economic stimulus package" that proposes $2.4 billion worth of tax breaks credits and loopholes for General Elecric, Chevon, Texaco and Enron.
January 2002Bush fast tracks a disastrous plan for oil and gas exploration that gives a green light for 26-ton "thumper trucks" to begin rolling through Utah's Dome Plateau desert.
February 2002Bush proposes a deceptively labled "Clear Skies" plan that ditches regulations governing emissions of three major pollutnats - mercury, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide - in favor of setting voluntary targest. Industry is not even required to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
March 2002The head of regulatory enforcement at the EPA steps down on the grounds that the EPA is now "fighting a White House that seems determined to weaken the rules we are trying to enforce."
April 2002The Senate passes a version of the Bush energy plan that scuttles an increase in fuel efficiency standards and supports more domestic production from coal and other polluting sources.
May 2002The administration clears legal hurdles so mining and construction companies can dump waste into streams and rivers, including waste generated after coal mining companies literally rip the tops off mountains.
June 2002The Bush administration announces a plan that would gut a key part of the Clean Air Act that requires America's oldest, dirtiest power plants and refineries to install pollution control equipment when they expand.
The White House admits the greenhouse gases that cause global warming will increase under their approach but still refuses to force industry to cut emissions of those gases.
August 2002
Bush proposes industry friendly legislation to combat wildfires that would waive environmental analysis, appeals and judicial review of timber sales in favor of increased logging in remote areas, not near at-risk communities.
September 2002
Bush administration officials announce plans to rewrite Clean Water Act regulations in order ro remove many wetlands, streams and other "isolated" waters from protection under the law.
October 2002
Data from the EPA reveals a sharp decline in enforcement of environmental laws under Bush's watch. The agency has initiated nearly 50% fewer enforcement actions against polluters than it did under President Clinton.
posted by Kimber
at 12:40 PM :: ~#~
