TALK ABOUT whiplash. About two weeks ago, the Bush administration finally decided to acknowledge what scientists have been claiming for years: global warming exists. Well, duh. The Environmental Protection Agency issued the report titled the U.S. Climate Action Report, and it states that emissions - especially those of carbon dioxide from power plants - indeed contribute to the climate changes of the planet. Not surprisingly, though, a day after the report created headlines, President Bush made sure to publicly dismiss its findings for the purely political reasons of satisfying his conservative base. He also used the report to make a backhanded criticism of "big government," distancing himself from the controversy by saying, "I read the report put out by the bureaucracy." As the policy director for the National Resources Defense Council, David Donniger, so sharply quipped, the President has to "wake up and smell the carbon" and look beyond the political ramifications of the report.
President Bush's dismissal of the EPA report is confusing, if not unexpected. No environmental activists have yet ventured to label the chief executive as an ally of Mother Nature, so in that aspect, his statements cannot shock anyone. Most of the general populace, however, readily concedes humans are somewhat to blame for global warming. According to a Harris Poll conducted in 2000, 89 percent of those polled had heard of the global warming theory, and 72 percent believed that emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases would lead to global warming and a rise in average temperatures. Surely, Bush could not have anticipated a drop in his approval rating - already inflated post-Sept. 11 - for admitting a scientific observation that most Americans already accept as true.
Alas, the river runs deeper than that. Bush apparently feared losing the support of his conservative minions and industry cronies. Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh went so far as to refer to the President as "George W. Al Gore" - the unlikely comparison of the colloquial apples and oranges. It's clear that Bush is more concerned with keeping his campaign contributors in the oil industry content for his re-election than the environment. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to placate the conservatives with midterm elections pending either.
President Bush supports voluntary cuts in emissions by industries backed by some financial incentives. The report suggests the possibility of adapting to climate changes instead of preventing them. For example, the impact warming might have on people's health "can be ameliorated through such measures as the increased availability of air conditioning." It's not as if the President is proposing anything more sweeping than AC units to warrant such censure from the likes of Limbaugh.
Earlier this month when Japan and the European Union adopted the greenhouse gas emission regulations of the Kyoto accord, Bush again affirmed his opposition to the treaty. He cites the possible negative repercussions that mandates would have on the American economy (read: oil industry) - a risk both Japan and Europe are willing to take for the environment. While the President obviously places the domestic economy on the top of his list of priorities, he should consider that making a symbolic gesture to fulfill or at a minimum explore some of the emission requirements could garner more support from the European Union for his all-out war on terrorism.
Before Bush announced his reservations about the EPA report, he reached a crossroads of sorts -_ agree with the scientists who place much of the blame for global warming on human endeavors or shrug off such postulations as doubtful. It's obvious that temperatures are in a steady, unnatural climb, with predictions for temperatures in the contiguous United States to increase five to nine degrees Fahrenheit in this century. Regrettably, the President chose to side with the contingent that rejects climatological studies similar to that of the EPA's as quack science in spite of such predictions. This group attributes the rise in temperatures to the natural fluctuations of the planet even though fluctuations indicate both upward and downward variations.
The most disturbing thing about Bush's dismissal of his own administration's findings is disregard for the future. Environmental dilemmas such as global warming will transcend the party squabbles and economic oscillations of today. Damage is irreparable. The impacts of global warming will affect environmentalists and conservatives alike, and the political house of cards that the President wishes to balance for the time being will become irrelevant and a long-forgotten relic of the past.
The government's stance on greenhouse gas emissions is nothing less than an embarrassment. Global warming does not only involve the United States. The entire world must grapple with the consequences, and when other industrial nations make an effort to alter the current course of destruction, Bush cannot afford to ignore them.
(Becky Krystal is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. She can be reached at bkrystal@cavalierdaily.com.)
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