Bush White House on climate change : You can't handle the truth.
posted by: Dave R. 52 days ago
Donald Rumsfeld famously said:
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know there are known unknowns.
That is to say we know
there are some things we do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
the ones we don't know we don't know.
It turns out that one of the things that we did know during the Bush era was that climate change is a threat.
Thanks to a freedom of information act request by Greenwire, a sealed EPA endangerment finding from 2007 was released this week, stating that "The (EPA) administrator proposes to find that the air pollution of elevated levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public welfare."
There is a particular emphasis on the role of motor vehicles as a contributing cause, as well as an outline of the IPCC's findings that the Arctic, low lying islands and deltas, and sub Saharan Africa are all at risk. The memo also details the increased potential for flooding, heat waves, diminished air quality, increased disease, wildfires, insect outbreaks, rising sea level, and hurricanes in the US.
A similar memo was published this April, so this endangerment finding is not new news. But why wasn't this document made public or acted upon in 2007?
Jason Burnett, the former EPA administrator who sent the earlier memo to the white house claims that "President Bush scrapped U.S. EPA's well-developed plans to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles, power plants, petroleum refiners and other major polluters at the urging of White House insiders who argued such a move would tarnish the president's legacy", according to E&E News. The transcript of Burnett's full testimony is avalable on line.
The Washington Post reported last year that "The White House declined to open the EPA e-mail containing that finding, which Burnett sent on Dec. 5, leaving the recommendation in limbo."
As Congressman Markey (half of the Waxman-Markey climate bill duo) said, “The Bush administration EPA and the Obama administration EPA both reached the same conclusion: that global warming poses a real threat. The difference is, the Bush administration, directed by [Vice President] Dick Cheney, suppressed that finding, and the Obama administration didn’t.”
On the issue of legacies, there are many in the environmental movement who consider the first part of the 21st century to be a 'lost decade'. On the positive side, this stonewalling probably helped create a larger, stronger, and more determined movement advocating action on energy use and GHG emissions. It's time to get on with it.
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know there are known unknowns.
That is to say we know
there are some things we do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
the ones we don't know we don't know.
It turns out that one of the things that we did know during the Bush era was that climate change is a threat.
Thanks to a freedom of information act request by Greenwire, a sealed EPA endangerment finding from 2007 was released this week, stating that "The (EPA) administrator proposes to find that the air pollution of elevated levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public welfare."
There is a particular emphasis on the role of motor vehicles as a contributing cause, as well as an outline of the IPCC's findings that the Arctic, low lying islands and deltas, and sub Saharan Africa are all at risk. The memo also details the increased potential for flooding, heat waves, diminished air quality, increased disease, wildfires, insect outbreaks, rising sea level, and hurricanes in the US.
A similar memo was published this April, so this endangerment finding is not new news. But why wasn't this document made public or acted upon in 2007?
Jason Burnett, the former EPA administrator who sent the earlier memo to the white house claims that "President Bush scrapped U.S. EPA's well-developed plans to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles, power plants, petroleum refiners and other major polluters at the urging of White House insiders who argued such a move would tarnish the president's legacy", according to E&E News. The transcript of Burnett's full testimony is avalable on line.
The Washington Post reported last year that "The White House declined to open the EPA e-mail containing that finding, which Burnett sent on Dec. 5, leaving the recommendation in limbo."
As Congressman Markey (half of the Waxman-Markey climate bill duo) said, “The Bush administration EPA and the Obama administration EPA both reached the same conclusion: that global warming poses a real threat. The difference is, the Bush administration, directed by [Vice President] Dick Cheney, suppressed that finding, and the Obama administration didn’t.”
On the issue of legacies, there are many in the environmental movement who consider the first part of the 21st century to be a 'lost decade'. On the positive side, this stonewalling probably helped create a larger, stronger, and more determined movement advocating action on energy use and GHG emissions. It's time to get on with it.
Read more: global warming
comments
Michael Gorbachov's prophesy on CNN is comming true. He stated that the communist had limited success under the peace movement but expected total success under the green movement.
This carbon trading scheme sign up is the formation of the new communist world thanks to the greens and anyone thinking they are going to be better of ,think again.
more taxes no elections and plenty of enforcement that will be the only global warming you will feel.
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The manufacture of Global Warming is the new focus for the world. The folks at the helm know that war between counties is old hat. When the term "war on terror" was developed, it was clever due to the fact that a war on terror can never be won. This gave them an open-ended excuse to go all out with anything they wanted. The next "war" is global warming since it is something everyone can relate to and they can maneuver in many directions to take hold in an entirely new way. Just watch to see how the new scare tactics are being used. Be sure to educate yourself and those around you to all the factual information you can get your hands on. Look deep into the plans that were laid out many years ago. This is no conspiracy theory. All the facts are plain to see when you do the research. Education is the key and a mindset of not allowing the few to screw up everything. They have an incredible foothold and are pulling out all the stops for their final attempts. We must never succumb to the incredible fear tactics and distractions being used. The hope is in education and not allowing stupidity to get in the way. A complete focus on joy with 100% positive thought, confidence and connected living will jamb their radar. Remembering ourselves as pure divine beings with the ultimate power to choose life or death on this planet is the only hope. Align yourself with the knowing that the Light will prevail and others will follow suit.
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What a shock. Its funny how the people that I encounter that are pro shrub, also think climate change is a hoax. These same rejects think its too much trouble to recycle and burn their garbage in the back yard. More often then not, they are the bilbe thumpers as well. I am sure God it proud of how you take care of his planet. World class hypocrites!
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One way that we can save the world is a plant based diet. Please try to watch the Eating Documentary and read The China Study. For us to feed cattle it takes so much grain that we could feed the world..literally. We are killing ourselves with the *American Diet*. Plus ingesting all the negativity from an animal who is suffering. I went veggie years ago and feel so much better for it. In Mind, Body and Soul. xo
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Bush didn't read the EPA thingy because they used words he wouldn't have understood.
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He was well paid to ignore the truth.
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The definition of ignorance is "not knowing that you don't know" something. This act of the Bush Administration to refuse to even read the EPA memo addressing global warming is the DEFINITION of willfull ignorance. This truly will be his legacy - the most willfully ignorant president that America has ever had.
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Interesting that Bush "declined to open" the email with the information, as that absolved him from the responsibility of acting upon the information. A truly pathetic administration.
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Why does this not come as a surprise that the secretive and self directed and serving greed Bush administration suppressed its own EPA findings?
Oh I'm sure when Miss Judy Cross and the few like her reviews this piece she'll let us know with her bogus web connections and inform us that it's all trumped up nonsense with no factual data, but as for the rest of us, we knew all along.
The thing is, after years of studies, findings and results, most of carbon's compounds as hydrocarbons, CO and CO2 is harmful to man in saturated or concentrated quantities. It's just that since they are the end-product of America's primary energy use and industries, the Bush/Cheney team preferred to side with monetary greed as opposed to the health and well-being of its nation's citizenry. No green efforts weren't only acted upon during the Bush years, sound science was held back.
No, they couldn't have inconvienced this sector no matter at what expense...
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WHAT THE...???
R U Kidding me?
WHAT is Rumsfeld's point?
THIS it typical of a speech he would give...
DOes he have a point?
What an IDIOT!
Good thing HE was in charge of Iraq and Afghanistan..... Otherwise, we would still be there!
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