Bush: Tough on the Environment

And by that I mean he is literally tough on the environment. A study commissioned by the Bush Administration had found his plan is third best in a selection of plans to modify the Clean Air Act. Problem is, there were only three plans in the running.

At the invitation of the environmental coalition Clear the Air, the international research firm Abt Associates, which often conducts studies for the Environmental Protection Agency, used the same methodology in assessing all three. It found that the administration's plan, called the Clear Skies Act, would save as many as 14,000 lives but that the other bills would save more - 16,000 in one case and 22,000 in the other.

Now saving 14,000 lives is a great idea. But of course, those darn environmental groups have a problem with it.

The report said that under current policies, nearly 24,000 people died each year as a result of power plant emissions, with the largest numbers in three closely contested states, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida.

"The administration is presenting as 'progress' proposals that delay action on air pollution, weaken health standards and undermine enforcement of the law," Angela Ledford, director of Clear the Air, wrote in the foreword to the report, adding, "If there was ever a time for people to stand up and demand action, it is now."

Congress is lukewarm on all three proposals. It is an election year, after all.

And speaking of election years...

The report criticized Mr. Bush as backing off a campaign pledge in 2000 to establish reduction targets for four big pollutants: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury and carbon dioxide. The administration proposal addresses all but carbon dioxide, while the Jeffords bill, as well as a less aggressive measure proposed by Senator Thomas R. Carper, Democrat of Delaware, and two Republican senators, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, provide for limits on all four pollutants.

"Rather than move forward on legislation to make our air cleaner, we have spent the last three and a half years trying to prevent the Bush administration from weakening clean air standards," Mr. Jeffords said in a written statement. Discussing the report after its release, Ms. Ledford acknowledged that Congressional action was probably far off. But, she said, "It's important to remind people about the issue, that they can do something about it."

The Bush Administration, when it rains it pours. Acid rain.