Does President Bush Care About The Environment At All?

By: Crystal Carroll

The leadership that President Bush has shown towards America’s environment is pathetic. The environmental issues that President Bush has ignored during his term in office are monumental. He has given only lip-service for the environment in his speeches. Meanwhile, he is trying to pass bills to allow 8.8 million acres of wildlife preserves in Alaska to be drilled for oil, and he has opened the American wild forests for timber industry.

The Clean Air Act is an environmental issue that the president is not enforcing or helping at all. The majority of AP Environmental Science students believe that President Bush enforces this act, but he has surprisingly made it worse. He and his Administrators made a proposal to power plants, refineries, and factories which can install modern air pollution control equipment when they increase their output of toxic waste. This ultimately creates loopholes, and lets polluters bypass the determination of current waste levels by using ten-year-old statistics. The facts speak for themselves: President Bush is not helping the environment at all.

As of April 2003, the president allowed open season on endangered species. An overwhelming 81% of the AP Environmental Science students thought that a man should be prosecuted for shooting an endangered California condor. The Bush Administration decided not to take legal action against the shooter, because it is not their policy, even though it states otherwise under the Endangered Species Act. This bird was one of nine condors captured to save the species from extinction. It had twelve offspring, and was set free into the wild again in order to be re-introduced into its natural habitat. Instead of prosecuting the man under the Endangered Species Act, giving him a $100,000 fine and a one year stint in prison, the Bush Administration only gave him a $15,000 fine; a small charge for a huge mistake that should have never happened.

The AP Environmental Science class took a survey on problems about President Bush’s environmental stance. One issue is the banning of snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park. In February of 2003, the president and his administrators reversed the prohibition of snowmobiles in the national park. Exactly 69% of the AP classes decided that this was wrong. Not only does this increase air and water pollution, but it also harasses the wildlife existing in Yellowstone.

These are just a few issues that the president has willingly ignored. More than 70% of the AP students believe that President Bush and his Administration are not supportive of environmental causes. Mrs. Strand, the teacher of AP Environmental Science and Biology even says that Bush “is the worst environmentalist president we have ever had.” We need a leader who is willing to step up and help contribute to our environment, not only for people, but also for plants and animals. Every living creature helps the cycle of life keep turning. President Bush has shown that he is stopping it from moving because he revolves around big business.