Bush Breaks Promise to Protect Hawaiian Islands from Pollution

There are very few instances in which Bush has done something genuinely good for America and for the world. Back in 2006 when he declared a remote chain of islands in Hawaii the biggest, most environmentally protected area of the ocean in the world, it was to much fanfare and praise from conservationists. But, if you visit this supposedly clean, protected area today, you’ll see a reality that’s far from what Bush promised.

From The Huffington Post:

His proclamation featured some of the strictest measures ever placed on a marine environment. Any material that might injure the area’s sensitive coral reefs and 7,000 rare species _ a fourth of them found nowhere else in the world _ would be prohibited, even if the debris drifted in from thousands of miles away.

Ocean currents are still bringing an estimated 57 tons of garbage and discarded fishing gear to the 10 islands and the waters surrounding them each year. Endangered monk seals are still being snared and coral reefs smothered by discarded fishing nets. Albatrosses are still feeding on indigestible plastic and feeding it to their young.

So, what happened? It’s simple: it got pushed to the back burner. The Bush administration cut the budget back by a whopping 80%. The photo above shows Kamilo Beach in September of last year, covered in trash again. But, is anyone surprised? Bush is a foe of the environment. Trash on a beach in Hawaii is the last thing on his mind, or that of anyone else in his administration.

Is it 2009 yet?

Link [The Huffington Post]

Photo credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Carey Morishige

Bush Vows to Veto a U.S. Climate Change Bill

George W. Bush is a hypocrite. There’s no denying that Bush has his hands in the pockets of untold numbers of corporations. It’s all about lobbyists and bribes; protecting buddies and fellow members of his administration. Though, that may be giving him too much credit – perhaps Bush really is one of those amazing people who genuinely believe that climate change isn’t real.

Bush has vowed to veto a U.S. climate change bill that’s currently making its way across the Senate floor. The Bush administration opposes economy-wide measures to limit carbon emissions.

From Reuters:

The legislation the Senate will debate could cut total U.S. global warming emissions by 66 percent by 2050, according to a summary of the measure.

U.S. greenhouse gas emissions would drop by about 2 percent per year between 2012 and 2050, based on 2005 emission levels, under the measure.

The bill would cap carbon emissions from 86 percent of U.S. facilities, and emissions from those would be 19 percent below current levels by 2020 and 71 percent below current levels by 2050, according to a summary of the bill’s details released by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

It’s been said before and it’s worth saying again: the disconnect in logic between the Bush administration’s reasoning for starting the Iraq War and their hesitance to do anything about the impending climate crisis is astounding. Case in point: Bush and Co. argued that the possibility that Saddam Hussein had WMDs was reason enough to invade Iraq despite not having proof, because the possible outcome was just too dangerous. That argument worked for them then, and yet applying the same argument to climate change – which has plenty of scientific data to back it up – apparently doesn’t work.

Furthermore, Bush had no problem running up an outrageous bill to fund the unpopular, pointless war in Iraq, but hypocritically speaks out against spending too much on a climate change plan:

“I urge the Congress to be very careful about running up enormous costs for future generations of Americans,” Bush said at a White House meeting on the economy and taxes. “We’ll work with the Congress, but the idea of a huge spending bill fueled by tax increases isn’t the right way to proceed.”

The bill’s supporters, particularly Senator Barbara Boxer of California, have angrily lashed out at Bush for his resistance to climate change legislation, noting his connection to Big Oil and that he had financial incentives to prevent such bills from passing.

Even if the bill passed in the Senate, it wouldn’t become law while Bush is still in office, so maybe we’ll get to see the next president give it a chance. Obama FTW!

Link [Reuters]

Big Shocker: EPA Chairman is Just a White House Puppet

Wow, this is so totally shocking. I mean, who knew that the White House pressures and at times, completely overrides the heads of various government agencies in favor of their own twisted agendas? Who would have thought that the United States government isn’t as democratic as it claims to be? I just fell out of my chair in shock.

From MSNBC:

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency [Stephen Johnson] came under sharp attack at a House hearing Tuesday, with Democratic lawmakers accusing him of repeatedly caving in to White House pressure on environmental issues such as global warming and a recently enacted health standard for smog.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the committee chairman, said depositions provided by senior EPA staff members suggest that Johnson had been overruled or heavily influenced by the White House on recent EPA decisions on the smog standard, its rejected of a waiver for California on global warming regulations, and the EPA ongoing deliberations on whether to regulate carbon dioxide.

“You have essentially become a figurehead,” Waxman told Johnson. “… In each case, you backed down.”

Crazy, man. What are we going to learn next – that our leaders take money from corporations to enact legislation that works in their favor? That they give large government contracts to companies they’re personally associated with, for their own financial gain? My confidence in the dedication of our government to protect and further the interests of the people is truly shaken.

Link [MSNBC]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons & Wikimedia Commons

Bush Isn’t the Only Leader Stupidly Stuck on Oil; UK Chancellor is, Too

The food crisis and pressure from consumers about high gas prices as led George W. Bush to once again call for drilling in what few pristine wilderness areas America has left, to the yawns and rolling eyes of thousands. I am Jack’s complete lack of surprise.

Americans are undoubtedly used to Bush pushing the oil agenda whenever possible, even when it’s totally inappropriate and mind-bogglingly stupid to do so. I mean, this is the guy who will go down in history as the worst thing that ever happened to our country, so it’s no wonder we’re not shocked when he says something dumb. Somehow, though, we expect more from Britain. Maybe it’s those accents that make them all sound like professors (except for the Cockney version, sorry) but especially in a post-Tony Blair era, we’d hope for a bit more intelligence than what our country’s leader displays.

Alas, here’s what UK Chancellor Alistair Darling told the BBC recently:

One of the big priorities has got to be for governments all over the world to try and get oil production increased, and also to tackle this problem that was pushing up food prices that was diverting corn into biofuels in a way that is not sustainable.

Meanwhile, here’s a quote about oil from Obama:

Change is an energy policy that doesn’t rely on buddying up to the Saudi royal family and then begging them for oil, an energy policy. Change is an energy policy that puts a price on pollution and makes the oil companies invest their record profits in clean, renewable sources of energy that will create millions of new jobs and leave our children a safer planet. That’s what change is, Iowa.

Is it 2009 yet?

Link [Celsias] + [Gristmill]
Photo credit: Flickr user Boris from Vienna

McCain Makes Big Crazy Promises About What He’d Accomplish in His First Term

Showing that the apple doesn’t fall far from the Bush, John McCain predicted yesterday that within 4 years of him as president, the war in Iraq would be over and Osama Bin Laden would be dead. He also promised rainbows every day of the week, chocolate rivers, marshmallow mushrooms and hugs from unicorns for all.

From MSNBC:

McCain, running in the November election to succeed Bush in 2009, described a scenario he thought he could achieve within his first four-year term.

“By January 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom,” McCain said in prepared remarks he was to deliver in Columbus, Ohio.

“The Iraq war has been won. Iraq is a functioning democracy, although still suffering from the lingering effects of decades of tyranny and centuries of sectarian tension. Violence still occurs, but it is spasmodic and much reduced,” McCain said.

McCain also predicted that al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden would be captured or killed within four years and the militant group’s presence in Afghanistan would be reduced to remnants.

Gee, Mr. McCain, don’t devalue yourself and your abilities, here. You can do so much more. I mean, if you’re capable of all that, why not go for the gold? You might as well also promise that you’ll bring the dodo bird back from extinction and find a way to live forever.

Go ahead and hold up a ‘Mission Accomplished!!!’ sign while you’re at it, since you’re so confident that all of this will happen. You know, to get your base psyched up for the election. We all know that conservative voters like to live in a world where global warming isn’t real and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will solve all of our oil problems, so why not throw these promises into the equation as well?

Link [MSNBC]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

San Franciscans Hope to Name Sewage Plant after George W. Bush

What better memorial to commemorate George W. Bush’s presidency than a sewage treatment plant? That’s what a group of people in San Francisco hope to accomplish after organizing a petition to rename the Oceanside Wastewater Treatment Facility.

From SFist:

The local grassroots movement, helmed by “Wayne Pickering,” is proposing an ordinance initiative for the November 2008 San Francisco ballot in order to get the poop/pee/vomit plant’s title changed. Why? To honor our current leader of the free world with an “appropriate and enduring legacy, for no other president in modern American history has accomplished so much in such a short time.

They held a signature drive last Friday, and we can only hope that they got enough to make this happen. While we may not ever be able to repair the damage Bush has done on this country, and will be left with the scars of his presidency for decades into the future, the least the American people deserve is a cesspool of shit officially named after him. They say that laughter is the best medicine, and as sick as we all are of the assclown that’s currently the head of our country, we need some healing. It would go great with George W. Bush toilet paper…

Link [SFist]

Photo credit: Prank Place