Bush’s (most) unspeakable crime
Of all of George W. Bush’s crimes — unnecessary war in Iraq, subversion of the constitution, torture, wholesale looting of the treasury for political gain, political subversion of the Department of Justice and so much more — ultimately, the worst, the most unspeakable, has to have been his refusal to face the reality of global warming. His other crimes have merely damaged the nation and subverted our liberty: this one puts at risk the future of the world.
And if anyone needed additional proof of the criminality of Bush’s conduct, then slap an exhibit sticker on this article from The Times:
The White House in December refused to accept the Environmental Protection Agency’s conclusion that greenhouse gases are pollutants that must be controlled, telling agency officials that an e-mail message containing the document would not be opened, senior E.P.A. officials said last week.
The document, which ended up in e-mail limbo, without official status, was the E.P.A.’s answer to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that required it to determine whether greenhouse gases represent a danger to health or the environment, the officials said.
This week, more than six months later, the E.P.A. is set to respond to that order by releasing a watered-down version of the original proposal that offers no conclusion. Instead, the document reviews the legal and economic issues presented by declaring greenhouse gases a pollutant.
When I read this, I was reminded of a series of café episodes I wrote a couple of years ago about a fictional trial of George W. Bush for crimes against humanity on this very point: somehow, today, the story seems a good deal less far-fetched.
If you missed the series the first time, or would just like to revisit them, go here:
June 25th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
I’m not really sure if I’m pissed more at bushco or the EPA. Like the Surgeon General, the EPA is supposed to be ‘telling like it is’ not pandering to the political and economic agenda of the administration or the general population. Guess that’s what happens when you let political appointees gain to much power. Remember NASA’s problems a while back? The one where NASA’s IG found that political appointees were still trying to spin climate reports?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/02/AR2008060202698.html
Humbug
June 26th, 2008 at 12:54 am
George W. Bush is a depraved moron. So are all the idiots who work for him. The buck is always their bottom line. Goodness sakes, dont want the fat-cat corporations to clean up their pollution. Don’t want the auto-manufacturers to build cleaner cars. God forbid, any billionaires might lose a few million by not getting their way. And to all the fools, who think regulation of industry is a no-no, welcome to tornadoes, hurricanes, sick grandchildren with asthma, tainted food, more cancer, more floods, and I hope your beach house looks lovely under water. We cannot keep on polluting and hope to survive. Mother Nature has already shown she ain’t taken it sittin’ down. We are a damnable virus. Unless we clean up our act, the earth organism is going to go full throttle to rid itself of us. When Bush’s ranch gets hit by a twister, he can sit among the rubble and lie to himself about the environment. The rich and the powerful think they can buy their way out of any problem. This is one that knows no class distinctions. In fact, that expensive condo on the beach just might not be the place to frolic and philander.
June 26th, 2008 at 3:19 am
richl
thanks for the link
why should they stop it? Environment protection is costlier than bribes
and the bribers still think the same - that their money will protect them, that global warming will only affect “the others” - us, the losers, the have-nots or have-not-enoughs…
isn’t it something like funny? Our so-called “elites” are too stupid to realize, that nothing can protect single humans from a raging Earth…
except, maybe, a terraformed Mars - which should be no problem to buy for the super rich, isn’t it? (Biosphere 2)
June 26th, 2008 at 10:37 am
If you haven’t done so already, read today’s TomDispatch. The introduction especially, is almost the same as Steve’s.
June 27th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
And just to frost the cake the BLM has put a 2 year moratorium on public land use for solar power production.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/us/27solar.html?_r=1&ref=science&oref=slogin