***********************************************
FOREST CONSERVATION NEWS TODAY
Gore Adds Voice to Condemnation of Bush Environment
Policies
***********************************************
Forest Networking a Project of Forests.org, Inc.
http://forests.org/
-- Forest Conservation Portal
http://forests.org/web/ -- Discuss Forest Conservation
April 23, 2002
OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY by Forests.org
Al Gore is the man.
This committed environmentalist, the popularly
elected President of the United States, has come out
swinging
regarding President Bush's selling of an environmentally
deficient
U.S. energy policy.
It is gratifying to see Mr. Gore highlight many
of the themes that Forests.org and the environmental
movement have
been raising. President
Bush's record of failed energy, climate and
land protection policy is becoming a major political
issue. The Toxic
Texan must not be allowed to continue assaulting global
ecological
sustainability while hiding behind the war on
terrorism. The Toxic
Texan is going to be run out of town on a rail unless he
gets the
message: No Ecology, No Economy. We must continue to ratchet up the
pressure by calling upon President Bush to End the War on
the
Environment with Forests.org's current action alert at:
http://forests.org/emailaction/bush.htm
Recall that Forests.org provides the largest, most
comprehensive and
popular Climate Change portal at
http://www.climateark.org/. This
site has been built without any outside funding and based
entirely on
volunteer work.
Its continuation depends upon identifying funders -
any leads?
Personal donations at http://www.climateark.org/donate/
also help immensely.
g.b.
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: The Selling
of an Energy Policy
Source: Copyright
2002 New York Times
Date: April 21,
2002
Under the presidency of George W. Bush, the environmental
and energy
policies of our government are completely dominated by a
group of
current and former oil and chemical company executives
who are trying
to dismantle America's ability to force them to reduce
the extremely
dangerous levels of pollution in the earth's atmosphere.
The first step was to withdraw from the agreement reached
in Kyoto to
begin limiting worldwide emissions of greenhouse gases.
Then the
administration cancelled an agreement requiring
automobile companies
to make the leap to more fuel-efficient vehicles. Other
acts of
sabotage are taking place behind the scenes. Just as
Enron executives
were allowed to interview candidates for the Federal
Energy Regulatory
Commission -- and to veto those they didn't think would
approve of
Enron's agenda -- ExxonMobil has been allowed to veto the
United
States government's selection of who will head the
prestigious
scientific panel that monitors global warming. Dr. Robert
Watson, the
highly respected leader of the Inter-Governmental Panel
on Climate
Change, was blackballed in a memo to the White House from
the nation's
largest oil company. The memo had its effect last Friday,
when Dr.
Watson lost his bid for re-election after the
administration threw its
weight behind the "let's drag our feet"
candidate, Dr. Rajendra
Pachauri of New Delhi, who is known for his virulent
anti-American
statements.
Why is this happening?
Because the largest polluters know their only hope for
escaping
restrictions lies in promoting confusion about global
warming.
Just as Enron needed auditors who wouldn't blow the
whistle when the
company lied about the magnitude of its future
liabilities, the
administration needs scientific reviews that won't sound
the alarm on
the destruction of the earth's climate balance.
How long they get away with it depends on how long they
can sow
confusion and doubt. But with folks wearing bikinis in
Boston in the
middle of April and with the massive melting of ice at
both poles and
in nearly every mountain glacier on earth, public
awareness and
concern are growing rapidly.
At a time when the world needs enduring leadership from
the United
States to rally all nations to join in a concerted effort
to stop
global warming, the administration is working overtime to
block any
progress whatsoever.
So tomorrow, on this Earth Day, more than ever before, we
need real,
forward-thinking leadership and a renewed focus on the
environment.
True leadership means ensuring that we take the necessary
steps to
leave a cleaner environment for generations to come --
and that means
strengthening environmental protections.
Instead, this administration's so-called Clean Skies
initiative
actually increases air pollution levels by allowing more
toxic
mercury, nitrogen oxide and sulfur emissions than does
current law.
Put simply, on the environment, this administration has
consistently
sold out America's future in return for short-term
political gains.
True leadership means guaranteeing our national security
and role as a
world leader -- and one of the best ways to do this is by
decreasing
our dangerous dependence on foreign oil, so that America
cannot be
held hostage to oil imports and tinhorn tyrants like
Saddam Hussein.
But instead this administration is now investing less in
energy
innovation and conservation and more in corporate
subsidies for oil
exploration and extraction and nuclear power.
True leadership means assuring an economy that rewards
innovation and
productivity. We can do so by leading the world in
investments in
technological innovations that will result in
environment-friendly
products like more efficient cars and renewable energy
sources. Such
investments would open up the door for new economic
growth. But this
administration is taking only those steps that increase
our addiction
to fossil fuels and outdated and inefficient
technologies.
On all these fronts, this administration has walked away
from the
tough choices and has instead chosen to subsidize the
solutions of the
past. Instead of leading, it has attempted to mislead.
Instead of
sharing a vision with the people, the administration has
given access
to special interests.
We can return to the path of progress, on which we value
economic
growth that rewards innovation and productivity and meets
the needs of
our families and of national security. We can return to
the days of
record growth coupled with record improvement in the air
we breathe.
We can return to true leadership on the environment.
We ought to look at the environment as a critical piece of
the nation
we will be. I urge Americans to re-engage in a
forward-looking
discussion of how to secure our nation's energy needs
while pursuing
environmental policies that will make us safer, more
efficient and
more respectful stewards of our planet and our nation's
great
potential.
###RELAYED TEXT ENDS###
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this
material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a
prior
interest in receiving forest conservation informational
materials
for educational, personal and non-commercial use
only. Recipients
should seek permission from the source to reprint this
PHOTOCOPY.
All efforts are made to provide accurate, timely pieces,
though
ultimate responsibility for verifying all information
rests with
the reader. For
additional forest conservation news & information
please see the Forest Conservation Portal at URL=
http://forests.org/
Networked by Forests.org, Inc., gbarry@forests.org