Environmentalists Troubled After Bush Reelection (NO!!)

[hatrack]

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The environment got very little attention from Bush and U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., on the campaign trail. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Mike Leavitt declared the election a mandate for Bush on the environment, but eco-groups disagree. They remain troubled over possible sweeping Bush-backed rule changes on clean air, Arctic drilling, roadless areas in national forests, endangered species, sewage dumping and mountaintop removal to mine for coal.

If the Bush administration rolls back environmental protections, eco-groups are prepared to challenge every move in court, said Karen Wayland of the Natural Resources Defense Council in a teleconference. The administration ``risks a hornet's nest of public opposition'' if it rolls back health, environmental and conservation protections to benefit oil, coal and mining industries, she said.

Leaders in the Republican-controlled Congress have hinted that it might be an appropriate time to push Bush's Clear Skies Initiative or to re-examine the entire federal Clean Air Act. U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, is ready to push for passage of Clear Skies, said Voinovich spokeswoman Marcie Ridgway. ``The senator is prepared to go forward,'' she said. Clear Skies went nowhere in Congress during Bush's first term, prompting the administration to push instead for changes in clean-air rules through the EPA. Possible changes include extending compliance deadlines for Northeast Ohio and other urban areas with ozone and soot violations and dropping lawsuits filed against coal-burning power plants in Ohio and other states.

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Environmentalists are troubled by both plans because the Bush-favored plans would allow industry more time to comply while the pollution continued. Legal challenges are likely on both rules. O'Donnell said there are reports of some calling on Congress to relax pollution limits for ozone, eliminate vehicle tailpipe inspections and ease pollution standards for cars, sport utility vehicles and diesel-powered big trucks and heavy equipment."

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http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/10293634.htm