It’s undoubtedly grim reading. But it should be
required for every conservationist — Democrat, Green,
Republican or Independent. The Natural Resources Defense Council
has just released its review of the Bush administration’s
2002 record on the environment. In Rewriting the Rules: The Bush
Administration’s Assault on the Environment, the council
details more than 100 federal actions last year that weakened
environmental protection — from assaults on the Clean Water
Act and public health laws to rollbacks of national forest and
national park policy.
Rob Perks, co-author of Rewriting
the Rules, explains that during the first year of the Bush
presidency, the administration learned that obvious assaults on
environmental laws, such as the weakening of arsenic standards in
drinking water, led to bad press and unhappy citizens. “In
2002, the administration learned to change their tactics,”
says Perks. “Then, after the November mid-term elections,
they become even more emboldened.” Now, the administration
speaks of “reforming” and “streamlining”
environmental laws. But according to the council, those words are
simply euphemisms for “weakening.”
The report
can be ordered from NRDC for $7.50, by calling 202/289-6868, or
downloaded free off the Internet at
www.nrdc.org/legislation/rollbacks/rollbacksinx.asp. NRDC’s
Web site is also updated regularly to track recent
rollbacks.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline White House record on rollbacks.
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