Jason Tate
04/10/04, 08:29 AM
Bush claimed during his 2000 campaign that “With the help of Congress, environmental groups and industry, we will require all power plants to meet clean air standards in order to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury and carbon dioxide within a reasonable period of time."
However, as Bruce Barcott notes in "Up In Smoke,” his blockbuster New York Times Magazine article from last Sunday:
On Feb. 14, 2002, President Bush unveiled his Clear Skies Initiative. The president declared that his proposed legislation ’’sets tough new standards to dramatically reduce the three most significant forms of pollution from power plants -- sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury.’’. . .
. . . [but] the air would actually be dirtier under Clear Skies than if the president allowed the E.P.A. to enforce the existing law. Clear Skies allowed 50 percent more sulfur dioxide, nearly 40 percent more nitrogen oxides and three times as much mercury as the Clean Air Act -- rigorously enforced -- called for.
We shouldn’t be surprised. In 2000, the Bush campaign’s fundraising “Pioneers,” who raise at least $100,000 for the campaign, included executives from many of the worst polluters. This time around they’ll be raising even more money for a man with a proven track record of defeating environmental regulation.
However, as Bruce Barcott notes in "Up In Smoke,” his blockbuster New York Times Magazine article from last Sunday:
On Feb. 14, 2002, President Bush unveiled his Clear Skies Initiative. The president declared that his proposed legislation ’’sets tough new standards to dramatically reduce the three most significant forms of pollution from power plants -- sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury.’’. . .
. . . [but] the air would actually be dirtier under Clear Skies than if the president allowed the E.P.A. to enforce the existing law. Clear Skies allowed 50 percent more sulfur dioxide, nearly 40 percent more nitrogen oxides and three times as much mercury as the Clean Air Act -- rigorously enforced -- called for.
We shouldn’t be surprised. In 2000, the Bush campaign’s fundraising “Pioneers,” who raise at least $100,000 for the campaign, included executives from many of the worst polluters. This time around they’ll be raising even more money for a man with a proven track record of defeating environmental regulation.