Bush Administration Refuses to Regulate Greenhouse Gases

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by: MICHAEL CHEUNG

The Bush administration Friday rejected the conclusion that global warming poses a threat to the public welfare, calling for 120 days of public comment and effectively delaying action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at least until the next president takes office.

Although Bush agreed during the G-8 summit in Japan this week to cut carbon emissions blamed for global warming by at least half by 2050, in a 588-page report, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) examined the issues concerning greenhouse gases, but refused to adopt its own experts’ findings that such gases could cause disastrous flooding, drought, and affect food and water supplies.

According to the EPA, there were doubts whether “greenhouse gases could be effectively controlled under the Clean Air Act.”

David Bookbinder, the climate counsel for the Sierra Club environmental group, said the EPA’s decision underscores EPA administrator Stephen Johnson’s “utter lack of credibility.”

The report follows a Supreme Court ruling ordering the EPA last year to devise ways to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles under the Clean Air Act.

Environmentalists angrily denounced the White House for what they said was political interference with government experts’ proposed rules. “The Bush administration’s refusal to respond to the Supreme Court and do something about global warming is not just illegal, it is grossly immoral,” said Danielle Fugere of Friends of the Earth, an environmental group.

Opinion
by: MITCHELL HANDLER
I was extremely disappointed by the White House’s reaction to one of its own organizations about greenhouse gases, but what could I expect? The Bush administration has never been the purveyor of change when it comes to global warming.

Even if the Administration was right about the ineffectiveness of the Clean Air Act, doing nothing would be even worse. And as to President Bush agreeing to reduce emissions by half by 2050, the Los Angeles Times points out that no binding commitment was signed. In the end, money does the talking, and Bush likes to “talk” a lot to the oil industry, which tells him to take no action.

Ignoring an issue does not make it go away. This world faces a crisis. Global warming is a steadily growing problem, and the United States cannot afford to just sit back and relax while our own country is being eaten away by the sea because of rising waters. As ice melts and the sea level rises, coastal Alaskan villages are literally being engulfed by the sea. The rest of the country may seem safe now, but unless action is taken, that will change. Stronger storms will hit the southeast, and weather patterns will change drastically.

One man can’t change the world by himself, but many can, and many small reductions of greenhouse gases will have a huge impact on the environment. Hopefully, the new President will pass laws that will satisfy scientists.

Tags: al gore, bush, epa, g-8, global warming, greenhouse gases, japan, pollution