Let's call George Bush the ostrich president. When confronted with hard facts that contradict his position, he squawks and plunges his head deep into the sand, leaving Ari Fleischer to stutter out some sorry explanation.
The Bush Administration is having a major ostrich moment. Yesterday the National Academy of Sciences released a report -- requested by the administration -- reiterating that, "Greenhouse gases are accumulating in earth's atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures to rise."
The report forced Bushies to admit a fact they'd scrupulously avoided in the past -- that the world is, indeed, getting toastier. But they stuck to the administration's position on warming nevertheless: "Not It!" Not the culprits, not responsible for the solution.
"This report shows what is known and certain, and that which is unknown or surmised," said White House spokesperson Ari Fleicher. "For instance, it concludes that the Earth is warming. But it is inconclusive on why -- whether it's manmade causes or whether it's natural causes." In fact, the report concludes that it is uncertain whether natural fluctuations are responsible for some of the warming, but leaves little doubt that gas guzzling humans are at least part -- if not most -- of the problem.
National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice indicated no more administration willingness to take responsibility than Fleicher did, arguing that when negotiating a solution to global warming, "One would want to be certain that developing countries were accounted for in some way . . . we cannot do something that damages the American economy or other economies because growth is also important." What she didn't mention is that the United States, with less than one twentieth of the world population, produces a quarter of the planet's greenhouse gasses.
The report came just in time for Bush's trip to Europe next week. He will meet with European Union leaders in Gothenburg, Sweden, and discuss his plans for global warming. Those leaders are furious that Bush abandoned the Clinton-negotiated 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which calls for nations to significantly reduce global warming gases by 2012.
Livid Europeans can sod off; when it comes to his own solutions, Bush needs no more proof than the fire of his own zeal. (For example, there is no scientific evidence that faith-based social services work, no evidence that his tax cut will spur the economy, no evidence that abstinence education without sex ed works, etc.) When faced with the lack of veracity of his own programs, Bush reverts to junk bond salesman and redoubles his efforts.
This approach is evident in his plan for global warming. According to news reports, Bush is considering offering an alternative to the Kyoto Protocol that would include asking industry to voluntarily reduce greenhouse gasses, and using emissions credits that polluting industries could buy from nonpolluting ones. Michael Milken himself couldn't have thought up such a doozy.
Despite the use of voluntary reduction targets, the U.S. increased its carbon dioxide emissions by 13 percent in the 90s, according to The Miami Herald. And yes, Dick Cheney's recently released energy plan calls for increased coal and oil production, both of which add to the greenhouse effect. Even the EPA's Web site, -- which hasn't yet caught up with the backwardness of the Bush Administration -- reports, "In the United States, approximately 6.6 tons (almost 15,000 pounds carbon equivalent) of greenhouse gasses are emitted per person every year. And emissions per person have increased about 3.4% between 1990 and 1997." But Bush says his plan will make the planet frosty as a beer mug in no time.
Perhaps Bush actually welcomes the greenhouse effect. Maybe he thinks if he can get the temperature high enough, glaciers will melt and wash away his nemesis, California, and those troublesome liberal Northeast states: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and . . . Vermont.
Wrong again. The report concludes that the Great Plains would be impacted the most -- and they're the Republican heartland.
