Bush: The Anti-Environmental President
The president’s environmental policies are at odds with the views of most Americans, including moderate Republicans, Schlickeisen said. He pointed to Bush’s proposals to ease restrictions on arsenic in drinking water and to scuttle the Clinton plan to protect million of acres of prized national forest, his reneging on his campaign promise to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, his renunciation of the Kyoto agreement to combat global warming, and his plan to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
"He’s waging war on the environment, and he’s just getting started," Schlickeisen said. "If he succeeds in enacting the agenda that he’s set forth in his first 100 days, then he will go down as the most anti-environmental president in modern times."
Schlickeisen added, "Looking at federal funding for natural resources and environment programs, during the Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations, spending went up by a cumulative $5.9 billion, $4.6 billion and $6.9 billion, respectively. By comparison, our current president proposes that during his four-year term of office he will reduce funding by $600 million compared to what he inherited. And these figures assume no adjustment for inflation; with such adjustment, the differences between the four administrations would be even more stark."
Schlickeisen noted that the president spent a week trying to remake his image on the environment, "but it’s hardly a cause for celebration when the president observes Earth Day by announcing he won’t roll back another environmental protection."
And since then, Bush has reverted to form by reaffirming his determination to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, instructing the Justice Department to research ways to kill the Clinton rule preserving 58 million acres of national forests, floating a proposal to lift the current ban on oil drilling off the coast of Florida, and preparing to trash the Clinton plan to restore grizzly bears in the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho and Montana.
"Conservationists have bent over backwards to forge a reasonable and workable reintroduction program for the vast Bitterroot wilderness because scientists say it holds the key to the long-term survival of grizzlies in the American West," Schlickeisen said.
He continued, "This plan was built through seven years of negotiations and concessions by conservationists, the timber industry and mill workers. It entrusts unprecedented authority to local citizens. A citizen management committee runs the program and oversees the reintroduction process. Understandably, conservationists saw this as just the plan for the Bush administration to embrace. Even Big Timber was satisfied. But Bush is balking."
Schlickeisen pointed out that the administration also is trying to gut the Endangered Species Act by rendering meaningless a provision that allows citizens to petition their government to protect wildlife. Citizens still could go to court, but the administration would bar the federal government from spending any money to enforce the results of lawsuits. In addition, Interior Secretary Gale Norton would gain sole discretion to protect endangered species. "If her opposition to the Bitterroot plan is any indication, that’s an invitation to extinction," Schlickeisen said. "The grizzly bear is a noble symbol of wild America -- or what’s left of it," he added. "This wilderness area is extremely remote and as big as the state of Rhode Island. If Norton won’t act to implement this recovery plan for this animal in this place, then Americans can’t rely on her to protect any wildlife anywhere."
Schlickeisen said Bush’s anti-environmental policies have triggered a spontaneous outpouring of citizen protests. From Defenders of Wildlife’s SaveArcticRefuge.org Web site, more than 1 million e-petitions have been sent to Bush and Congress urging protection for the Arctic refuge.
"Our goal is for millions of Americans to join together to defend our environment against the special interests and hold our elected officials and policy makers accountable for their actions as stewards of the environment for generations to come," Schlickeisen said.
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Defenders of Wildlife is a leading non-profit conservation organization recognized as one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and its habitat. With more than 440,000 members and supporters, Defenders of Wildlife is an effective leader on endangered species issues.
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