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Defenders Magazine
Capital Accounts: Government By the People?
America is often called the world’s greatest democracy, a government of the people, by the people and for the people. But recent attempts to gut environmental laws make one wonder whose interests our leaders are protecting. Increasingly, the winners appear to be corporate special interests. The losers? You, me and the world we share.
A look back at 2003 shows the Bush administration and its allies in Congress working feverishly to rewrite major environmental laws and regulations. These changes open the doors to many previously proscribed activities, including logging, road-building, oil drilling and even polluting.
A key priority of the Bush administration is drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. We are told the oil there is vital to addressing our energy needs and reducing our dependence on foreign supplies. But the government’s own studies show only about six months’ worth of oil in the refuge. Nonetheless, the oil industry strongly backs opening the refuge to drilling and many members of Congress have tried repeatedly to stick the drilling provision into different legislation, only to fail in the face of strong bipartisan opposition.
The energy bill crafted in Congress last year was so bloated with tax breaks and giveaways to energy producers, it was rejected by some elements of the president’s own party. The bill did little to address America’s energy needs, protect consumers from high energy bills or shift America’s focus to renewable energy sources. Only the threat of a bipartisan filibuster prevented the bill from becoming law last fall.
The Bush administration has proposed rule changes that would allow the Environmental Protection Agency to approve the use of pesticides without assessing their effects on wildlife. The change would benefit the pesticide industry and could result in increased amounts of dangerous chemicals in our environment.
Similarly, the Bush administration has proposed changes to the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires industry to assess the impact of new projects on wildlife and habitat. The changes would allow developers greater access to public lands and allow them to implement projects with much less environmental review.
In our national forests, the Bush administration proposed new regulations that will dramatically reduce government accountability for logging operations. The changes benefit the timber industry and potentially open vast tracts of national forest to logging.
Internationally, the president has proposed loosening the rules governing the importation of endangered species and their body parts. If the regulatory changes are successful, hundreds of endangered species worldwide could once again find themselves in the cross hairs. A major trophy-hunting advocacy group, Safari Club International, cited by news sources as a political contributor to the president, backs the president’s proposal.
Even widely popular regulations are being changed by this president. Years ago, the public outcry over “dolphin-deadly” tuna fishing practices led to restrictions on imports and the “dolphin-safe” label. As a result, the number of dolphins dying in tuna nets plummeted. But the president has proposed easing those rules so countries that don’t use safe fishing practices can get a piece of the U.S. market, a move that renders the “dolphin-safe” label meaningless.
Across a broad spectrum, the Bush administration has moved aggressively to gut or eliminate key environmental protections. All too often, these changes benefit industry and corporate interests at the expense of our lands, wildlife and the public health.
Government of the people, by the people and for the people? More like government of, by and for corporate executives.
