The Environment and Energy sections of the 2004 GOP Convention Platform claim "strong leadership and commitment" to environmental progress by President Bush and the Majority Leadership in Congress. In reality, President Bush has compiled the most anti-environmental record of any president in modern history, earning him the first ever "F" on our 2003 Presidential Report Card.
Energy | Clean Air | National Parks | Clean Water
Climate Change | Endangered Species
| Energy Policy |
| Platform Rhetoric President Bush "[recognizes] the need for a balanced energy policy that increases both energy production and conservation...we need a comprehensive energy policy so that we don't lurch from one energy crisis to the next." |
Bush's Real Record
Since taking office in 2001, the Bush Administration crafted an energy policy behind closed doors with energy industry lobbyists and executives. Since then, President Bush has pushed a deeply flawed, unbalanced bill that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) describes as the "leave no lobbyist behind" bill. In fact, the legislation provides nearly $100 billion in giveaways to polluting and already profitable industries at the expense of the health, safety and environment of the American public. The Bush-Cheney energy bill also does little to invest in renewables or conservation while providing billions in fiscally-irresponsible pork barrel projects that reward Bush campaign contributors. Instead of reducing dependence on foreign oil, the Bush energy policy actually increases it, creating new loopholes to avoid improving automobile efficiency and lacking any oil savings goal.
| Clean Air |
| Platform Rhetoric President Bush's Clear Skies proposal "will reduce 70 percent emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury" |
Bush's Real Record
Despite the optimistic title, public health officials and state and local air pollution control agencies charge that the plan would in fact, repeal and weaken public health protections of the Clean Air Act. The legislation would eliminate base Clean Air Act programs, including New Source Review. The Bush plan also does not control carbon dioxide, the leading cause of global climate change. The Bush Plan to reduce toxic mercury emissions actually leaves too much mercury in the air for too long. The Bush EPA has stated that the technology exists to achieve a 90 percent reduction in five years, while the Bush proposal would achieve only a 50 - 70 percent reduction over 15 years (15 years from 2003).
| National Parks |
| Platform Rhetoric President Bush's "commitment to national parks is producing results: parks are better managed, better funded, and better produced...President Bush's approach to improving national parks...protect and conserve the parks' natural resources for future generations." |
Bush's Real Record
For the past 4 years, the Bush Administration has rolled back environmental protections that undermine parks and underfunded staffing, maintenance and programs, resulting in a $600 million shortfall. The Bush Administration's reversal of roadless rule protections for national forests jeopardizes 23 U.S. national parks and monuments in 16 states, raising the specter of serious harm being done to outdoor "crown jewels" that are traveled to each year by more than 40 million Americans -- over a third of all visits to U.S. national parks, monuments and parkways, according to a report by the Campaign to Protect America's Lands (CPAL) and the Coalition of Concerned National Park Service Retirees (CCNPSR).
| Protecting America's Water Resources |
| Platform Rhetoric "President Bush is working with the Republican Congress and state and local officials to fulfill his new national goal to increase wetland acres." |
Bush's Real Record
The Bush Administration itself estimates that 2003 guidelines by the Army Corps of Engineers remove Clean Water Act protection from 20 million acres of the nation's wetlands or 20 percent of remaining wetlands in the lower 48 states. The guidelines also threaten thousands of small streams, ponds and other waterways that could also be defined as "isolated" by some regulators. [National Wildlife Federation]
| Global Climate Change |
Platform Rhetoric |
Bush's Real Record
Despite real consensus in the scientific community, President Bush and his administration have long argued that there is no clear scientific proof of linking human activities to global warming. And even though the Bush Administration released a report this week showing how human activity, such as driving automobiles and operating power plants, helps contribute to global warming, the administration continues to "study" climate change, and in effect ignore the problem exists.
| Endangered Species Act |
| Platform Rhetoric President Bush "remains commited to the goal of protecting species to enhance their chances for survival." |
Bush's Real Record
Since taking office in 2001, the Bush administration has worked systematically to undermine the Endangered Species Act (ESA), employing a wide variety of tactics to circumvent the clear language of the law and to skew its function in favor of corporate interests. This administration has listed only 25 species since 2001, all under court order. The Clinton administration added an average of 65 species per year, while the first Bush administration listed an average of 58 per year.