Bush Versus the Environment

The title says most of what you need to know. But unlike many political works, it does not simply focus on "Bush-bashing", but rather looks at the report card for the current administration (at least up to summer 2004). Mr. Devine does point out that there are some successes by Bush et. al., but brings an environmental reporter's skill in digging into the minutae of all the reports, good and bad. And what he finds is truely terrifying if you enjoy clean air and water. Rolling back the last few decades worth of environmental protections and progress, the Bush administration seems to be more interested in the quick, short-term buck than future health of people and well being of the planet. I know that sentence, ending with "the well being of the planet", seems to sound extreme, but it applies. As Mr. Devine shows, many of the cronies that are in high-ranking spots seem to think that there is no connections in the environment and that one species exists in a vacuum related to the rest. I taught biology and environmental science for 10 years, and I knew there was reason to worry about what was going on in Washington D.C. by 2004. This book provides a clear and well done explaination why; not just on the face of what I knew from science journals, but also into the machenations of the White House and its finatial doners.

As much as I'm inclined to do so, I can't really attack this book. In fact, its a pretty good attempt to delineate the many ways in which president Bush is selling America's environment right out from under our feet, not that we really need a book to tell us that. I essentially agree with every claim the author makes: that the White House encourages lawsuits against the government as a way of weakening policy, that Bush appoints like-minded anti-regulatory staff to head up the major environmental departments, and that the president is doing everything he can to pave the way for exploitation of America's last pristine wildernesses. What I really don't agree with is the author's reading of Bush's motives. It's fairly vogue among the left just now to paint the president in the most cynical and self-serving terms. But that isn't quite the case. I'm no Bush fan, but it ought to be obvious to even the crudest observer that the president has more weighing on him than merely the demands of the fatcat lobby, which is what Devine seems to imply. In addition, I think Devine adopts a tone of desperation, as though this may just be America's last hurrah. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In numerous ways, the Bush years will only further the liberal cause. Sure, the president's agenda is frightening. But he's such a poor administrator that he has no idea how to achieve it. From both a liberal and a conservative perspective, the Bush presidency will prove to be a flop, simply because of the president's lack of ability. The environment will be fine, and so will the rest of us.