Although the Bush Administration rarely amazes me with their harmful environmental policies and selective and biased approach to scientific inquiry, this one, ironically, really took my breath away:
This morning, the New York Times reported that the EPA, responding to a Supreme Court ruling to determine the extent to which greenhouse gas poses a threat to the health and safety of people and the environment, sent a full report to the White House, via email, six months ago. The email, that included a conclusion with evidence surrounding the effects of greenhouse gasses, was never opened!
From today’s New York Times:
"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. Over the past five days, the officials said, the White House successfully put pressure on the E.P.A. to eliminate large sections of the original analysis that supported regulation, including a finding that tough regulation of motor vehicle emissions could produce $500 billion to $2 trillion in economic benefits over the next 32 years. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter."
This reminds me of when, as a child, my brother used to put his hands over her ears and yell "lalalalalalalalala... I can’t hear you" when he wanted to ignore my sister or me. Only this time, the childhood games played by President Bush have a real and harsh impact on the future health of our nation and the world.
Join me in demanding that President Bush and the Environmental Protection Agency make the entire document public. Maybe the Bush Administration thinks that if they ignore the problem, it will go away, but we know better.
Click here to ask the EPA to release the original conclusions to the greenhouse gas study today.
Jared Polis
www.polisforcongress.com
Colorado, Second Congressional District