bush* backs off on MTBE ban.

[JasonDeter]

Continues to allow drinking water contanimation. In central California in a small town called Glenville, its entire drinking water was contaminated by MTBE. The people have to drink bottled water. After the USA, Saudi Arabia is the major producer of MTBE in the world. And talk about special interests controlling the bush* cabal!! This story needs to get out there!!



http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20040216_445.html

The Bush administration quietly shelved a proposal to ban a gasoline additive that contaminates drinking water in many communities, helping an industry that has donated more than $1 million to Republicans.

The Bush administration decided to leave the issue to Congress, where it has bogged down over a proposal to shield the industry from some lawsuits. That initiative is being led by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas.

[fearnobush]

1. When will our candidates Blast the Chimp for his deplorable

record for supporting the anti-environment special interest. MTBE is by product of the refinery process. Ethanol actually does a better job at oxygenating fuel, but, thats too green for our unelected smog sucking leader.

[JasonDeter]

4. I have read that todays cars DO NOT need additives!

But the bush*ies won't hurt their special interest companies, my gawd! where is the media on this? Oh wait, I forgot, Janets tittie.

[Fenris]

2. My father, who works for Shell, pointed out a Huntsman MTBE

...facility in Port Neches, TX, that the Huntsman corporation had spent tens of millions of dollars to build, only to find out that because of groundwater contamination, MTBEs were going to be banned. The plant is now idle. So I am not surprised that the Bush Administration/Oil Cartel is backing off the ban. There's a lot of money in it.

[JasonDeter]

6. How's Texas pollution problem going these days?

In 2000 it was a big issue, I can't believe they've fixed the problems in only 3 yrs?

[Fenris]

9. Not much better than it was 3 years ago

Perry, DeLay, the Republican legislature, and the petrochemical giants aren't making the environment their primary concerns.

[henslee]

3. This is disgusting. Here in CA, ony Union 76 has stopped using MTBE's.

They have seen the writing on the wall. L.A. water is not supposed to be too good. More and more water stores keep popping up. Just like in Mexico, folks are fearful of tap water. Gray Davis was supposed to enforce CA's scheduled ban on MTBE's but rolled back the compliance date. I was told that the both gas folks and and bottled water companies (e.g. pepsi) were major contributors to his campaign.

[JasonDeter]

5. Republicans are killing America's enviornment!!

Look what they've done to California!!


Pete Wilsons wife got a cushie job with ARco all related to Wilsons forcing California to use MTBE only. Its disgusting what republicans will do for money.

http://www.rense.com/ufo6/knowit.htm
Could MTBE End Life As We Know It In The US?

Then governor Pete (ahhnolds main guy) Wilson vetoed this bill:
California One Step Away From Allowing Ethanol

Two bills that will help ethanol compete with MTBE in California's cleaner burning gasoline program were passed unanimously by both the State Assembly and Senate and are awaiting Governor Pete Wilson's signature. The first bill, AB 1642, would lift the cap on the state's oxygen content and allow the use of ethanol in California cleaner burning gasoline. The Legislature also approved AB 1650, a bill that would remove the pump labeling requirement for ethanol, the only oxygenate that must currently be labeled.


California Assemblywoman
Debra Bowen
Introduced by Assemblywoman Debra Bowen, chair of the Assembly's Natural Resources Committee, AB 1642 would allow the use of 10 percent ethanol blends. "Ethanol is a proven alternative to MTBE that has been consistently endorsed by the Legislature and was widely used in California before the implementation of California Air Resource Board's regulations," wrote Bowen in a letter to Governor Wilson urging him to sign the bill into law. "Given the serious concerns about MTBE, it is appropriate to aggressively pursue alternative fuel blends that do not pose as great a threat to water quality and public health," Bowen added.

The legislation enjoys broad-based support from municipal governments and environmental and agriculture organizations, including the National Audubon Society, the City of Gridley, Santa Clara Valley Water District, California Public Interest Group, Planning and Conservation League, California Farm Bureau, Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Californians Against Waste, Quincy Library Group, California Biomass Energy Alliance, Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, California Renewable Fuels Council, and the California Rice Industry Association. The City of Gridley and Quincy Library Group are both working on potential rice straw-to-ethanol projects that would create jobs and alleviate the open field burning of rice straw by converting it to a renewable, clean burning fuel.

Coalition Chairman and Indiana Governor Frank O'Bannon also wrote to California Governor Wilson encouraging him to sign both legislative bills, "...this bill will encourage increased ethanol production and use in California.

[hunter]

7. Without MTBE there will be summer gasoline shortages in the U.S.

That's the awful truth. The Bush administration is thinking maybe they could still get elected with gasoline at $3.00 a gallon, but they will be in very serious trouble if gasoline costs $5.00 a gallon, or if there is any sort of rationing.

Low quality gasoline can easily be diluted 10% to 15% with MTBE, to stretch supplies.

This never was about clean air. Do you think these guys ever cared about clean air? About as much as they care about clean water...

[tom_paine]

8. So? That's like saying "Hitler killed Jews"

(in fact, a little tto much like that given the Party-Loyal Bushevik Sub-Medias penchant for using the Nazi-style of propaganda)

And?

Bunnypants* did what he always does. Sold out the fortunes of the nation to the highest bidder who is also his friend or stooge.

Might as well get upset at Nazis for running concentraion camps.

Oh. Well, might as well point out the similarity then.

[JasonDeter]

12. 'What' is like saying 'Hitler killed Jews?'

I don't get your post? Are you saying bush* is a good thing?

[Fenris]

10. Reposting, as it was originally deleted

My father works for Shell and I sent him the article about Bush and the reversal of the MTBE ban. He sent me this is response.

I had been following some of this and I'm aware of the Santa Monica problem because Shell has exposure in that one, as well as other companies. MTBE has been a political football for years. It came into being as an additive to make gasolines burn cleaner, so it was an accepted component by the government of mandated reformulated gasolines. Since they do burn cleaner, they have been a factor in some of the improvement in gasolines, although the most improvement is noted in those states like California that mandate even stricter standards. MTBE then became a point of contention between the farm states, who produce corn which makes ethanol, and the states like Texas and Louisiana that have chemical plants. There is a big MTBE facility in Port Neches (where my family's from -- ed.). The corn people, through both greater political strength and the fact that they have the cleaner of the products, eventually won out and after the discovery of MTBE in ground water, it should have been pretty much over. As a part of the energy bill, DeLay has been trying to exempt his chemical buddies in Texas from legal liability claims and being as tenacious as he is, has at least kept his issue alive while the energy bill withers on the vine, which it probably deserves anyway. Any bill designed by Dick Cheney is not good for the average American citizen. Of course, the Democrat contributors in the trial lawyer lobby want to get it opened up so they can file massive lawsuits, which mainly benefit a few sleazeball lawyers at the expense of everyone else. So it is a case without many good guys and actually brings out some of the worst in both parties. Fact is, due to the continuing problems with leaking underground tanks, we have an environmental issue with MTBE. Since the government has not been able to adequately solve the problems with underground tanks, the logical course is to ban the products that are harmful that may leak from them, like MTBE. The Bush administration is just continuing the path it took on environmental issues in Texas, which was the allow polluters to continue to pollute with the governments blessing and keep those campaign dollars coming in and call it regulation. Even his father had a more respectable record. They are the environmental equivalent of a German bureau of Jewish affairs.

Just thought you'd like a perspective from someone in the industry.

[texastoast]

11. Erin Brockovich We Need You Now!

Working around scumbag corporations doing dirty deeds like this made this gal famous.