Looking into the future the Pelican feeding its young from a self-induced wound in its own breast (as depicted, mysteriously, on the state flag of Louisiana) is accepted as an appropriate symbol of both self-sacrifice and rebirth. Through his selfless efforts, man is raised from the slavery of ignorance to the condition of freedom conferred by wisdom.
   Given the current state of affairs in Louisiana, one hopes that the understanding of t he Pelican as a symbol shall point the way towards a new consciousness of ourselves as a whole, and lead us to face our futures with strength, grace, wisdom and faith, to learn from our mistakes and carry our successes and zest for living to future generations.



The White House is Bush-Whacking Our Health!



TomPain.common Sense

A Public Interest Journal



"In the early 1980's you didn’t need to be a member of Earth First! to know that Ronald Reagan was bad for the environment. You didn’t even have to be especially politically aware. Here was a man who had after all, publicly stated that most air pollution was caused by PLANTS. And then there was Reagan’s secretary of the Interior, James Watt, who saw no need to protect the environment because JESUS WAS RETURNING ANYDAY, and who, in a pique of reactionary feng shui, suggested that the buffalo on Interior’s seal be flipped to face right instead of left."

The above is a humorous start to an article by Osha Gray Davidson in the September issue of Mother Jones magazine.

But there's nothing funny about the story that follows: George W. Bush is waging a crusade to destroy our environmental laws. Unlike Reagan, however, Bush tries to obscure his agenda from the American people, who strongly favor environmental protection.

You might know that Mr. Bush is gutting the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, which have done more to protect the health of Americans than any other environmental laws. You might know he's crippled the Superfund toxic-waste cleanup program.

But do you know Mr. Bush wants to cuts EPA's enforcement budget by 20 percent, to its lowest level ever? That fines assessed for environmental violations have dropped by two-thirds? That prosecutions of environmental crimes - our last resort against the worst polluters - are down by one-third?

Mr. Bush must think Americans are fools.

He stages photo-ops that make him look green – images dutifully broadcast by compliant members of the press. Meanwhile, out of sight, in the yawn-inspiring realm of rules and regulations, his staff wreaks havoc.

Bush has place executives and lobbyists from polluting industries "deep into the administrations rank and file," Davidson writes. "The result is an administration uniquely effective at implementing its ambitious pro-industry agenda with a minimum of public notice."

Other stories in the current issue of Mother Jones describe the local impact of Mr. Bush's policies- on Florida's Suwannee River watershed, and in Port Arthur, Texas, where residents breathe some of America's dirtiest air.

Read these stories and the conclusion is inescapable: No other president has gone after environmental laws with the same fury as George W. Bush. And none has been so adept at staying under the radar.

TomPain.com - A Public Interest Journal Featuring "Dirty Secrets" by Osha Gray Davidson, reprinted with permission from Mother Jones MotherJones.com

© 2003 The Florence Fund, PO Box 53303, Washington, DC 20009

Clean Air Rules Relaxed at Plants



USA Today
August 28, 2003

EPA Gives Industry Freedom to Upgrade

By Laurence McQuillan and Traci Watson
USA TODAY



WASHINGTON - The Bush administration revised clean air rules Wednesday to allow power plants, refineries and industrial plants to upgrade facilities without having to install costly pollution control equipment.

Environmentalists said the change rolls back safeguards aimed at improving the quality of the nation's air.

The change, issued by acting EPA Administrator Marianne Horinko, exempted thousands of industrial plants from provisions in the Clean Air Act that require anti-pollution equipment be installed when major repairs or upgrades have been made. The rule change applies to about 17,000 facilities around the country. Ohio and other Midwestern states are dotted with aging plants. Those plants, which lack pollution controls now available, emit chemicals that form smog, acid rain and haze.

The change ends a two-year debate within the administration. The controversy over the change is likely to be address at the confirmation hearings of Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, who was chosen by Bush to head the EPA, The hearings begin next month.

Until now, operators have been required to add pollution-cutting equipment if they do more than routine maintenance causing increased emissions.

The new rule represents a victory for industrial plants, which have long complained that the old rule was confusing and prevented much-needed maintenance. Power plants are the biggest beneficiaries of the change because they are the most likely of all industrial plants to too make major upgrades.

Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, lamented the decision. "The Bush administration has given polluters a pass on making their facilities safer for our communities," he said.

This month, a U.S. district judge in Ohio ruled that Ohio Edison had violated the old rules by making upgrades that went beyond routine maintenance- without installing the required anti-pollution equipment. The result, the judge ruled, was an increase in pollution from the plant.

In New York, state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said he will sue the Bush administration to block the rule change and will ask other states to join his challenge.

White House 'Influenced EPA'



WASHINGTON-At the White House's direction, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gave New Yorkers misleading assurances that there was no health risk from the debris-laden air after the World Trade Center collapse, an internal inquiry revealed.

President George Bush's senior environmental advisor defended the White House involvement Friday, by saying it was justified because of national security. The White House "convinced EPA to add reassuring statements and delete cautionary ones" by having the National Security Council control EPA communication in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, said the report issued Thursday by the EPA.

That Stinking Air is the Smell of Freedom!

The Westender September 4-10, 2003



Maybe it's the culmination of an astonishing summer of worldwide extreme weather or the saturation coverage of forest fires but I’m increasingly antsy about every breath I take.

Last night the bedroom filled with a whiff of smoke not of my making and I instantly came alert. Is this it? Has a tossed butt ignited the North Shore forests into a cyclonic firestorm that'll be momentarily flicking flaming trees across the inlet like matches?!

It turned out to be the neighbor incinerating some bank statements but you can understand my hair-trigger response. It's not the fire I fear so much as the smoke; the burning eye, sandpaper throat and certain knowledge that the global warming fuse burns dangerously close to the extinction bomb.

The smoke is a telegram to the heart that citizens with a stake in survival better be prepared to conserve and co-operate to lessen our impact on the planet's crumbling life support systems.

Unfortunately, this attitude has yet to penetrate the reinforced concrete skulls of the Bush White House - as a string of recent news stories documenting their meddling with regulations and reporting of the Environmental Protection Agency indicate.

Last week Environment Canada officials yowled foul over the U.S.'s Environmental Protection Agency's White House-pressured decision to roll back pollution enforcement and widen the definition of routine maintenance at some 17,000 obsolete refineries and coal-fired industrial and power-generating facilities. The new regs will allow them to overhaul and expand by as much as 20 percent without installing any new anti-pollution technology, even if the upgrade increases emissions. Environmentalists, citizens and legislators of all stripes moaned in unison at this betrayal of the public good and flagrant sell-out to Bush's apparently untouchable energy cronies, promising a storm of lawsuits.

Acting EPA administrator Marianne Horinko defended the decision that could extend the life of antique facilities that should have been shut down years ago, claiming that it would add no new pollution to the environment. Fearing resurgence in acid rain-causing pollutants blowing into Eastern Canada, Environment Canada officials challenged her to provide some documentation to support this bizarre assertion.

Those figures maybe some time coming as the Bushies have handed Horinko a whole mittful of litigious hot potatoes to juggle before her term expires as EPA head. Horinko recently refused to regulate carbon dioxide in vehicle emissions as a pollutant or contributor to global warming, inviting another rash of lawsuits from petitioning environmental activists groups. She's also had to field stinging rebukes from the agencies own auditor general, saying they caved into White House demands to declare the air safe to breathe in the vicinity of the collapsed World Trade Center, even though it was known to be a deadly soup of pulverized glass, concrete, asbestos, lead and toxic residues from incinerated plastics.

Citing "national security" and a desire to reopen the stock markets as quickly as possible, the Dubya regime clearly compromised the safety of New Yorkers and the irreparably damaged credibility of the now ironically named EPA.

It's worth noting that Horinko's predecessor Christine Todd Whitman resigned as EPA head after Bush denounced the findings of scientists he handpicked, confirming evidence of global warming and had those sections deleted from last years annual EPA report.

Experiencing any shortness of breath now? That's not asthma (yet); it's the burning Bush Love of FREEDOM you're choking on. Enjoy.