Bush and the Environment

The Bush administration hasn’t been exactly great on the environment, although it has been a bit better lately. The last couple weeks have shown they’re still behind most of the world:

• they nearly torpedoed the chance of a treaty in Bali by being against any defined goal–this is old news, so I won’t even put in a link.
• for the first time since California was given special status, a waiver  (altogether they have been granted more than 40 times) to allow for stricter CO2 standards was not approved:

The EPA’s action came after California had waited nearly two years for federal approval of its new auto regulations. Under the Clean Air Act, California has the right to pass auto emissions standards that are tougher than federal ones – a recognition of the state’s historical struggles with air pollution. In this case, the state proposed rules that would have required automakers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% in all new cars and light trucks by 2016, beginning with the model 2009 year. All California needed was a waiver from the federal government, which has been virtually automatic over the past decades – until this decision, the first time the EPA has said no. “It’s absurd,” says Michelle Robinson, director of the clean vehicles program for the Union of Concerned Scientists. “There is no reason for the Administration to squash this program.”

and it will only delay the waiver:

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sharply criticized the EPA, and announced that the state would seek to overturn the decision in court. They’ll have a strong case – Johnson’s own lawyers in the EPA argued that the agency would be unable to defend the move, the Washington Post reported. But it’s likely to take half a year or more for the case to make its way through the courts, delaying efforts to control greenhouse gases.

There is a chance that it will be acted on sooner:

But the move might be struck down – or an injunction granted – in months, if courts find the EPA acted against the advice of its own lawyers, legal experts say. The decision also holds potential for Congress to become involved as debate over climate-change legislation accelerates.

Since it does seem that the EPA acted against its lawyers advice, hopefully this will be resolved fairly quickly.

• the US is also working against a proposal by the EU to reduce emissions by airlines:

Daniel K. Elwell, assistant administrator for aviation policy, planning and environment at the Federal Aviation Administration, said the Europeans had softened their proposal “a little bit in timing and base-lining, but it is still on the face of it a unilateral imposition of standards worldwide.”

Any limits on airline carbon releases should be negotiated through the International Civil Aviation Organization, he said.

My guess is that the US would oppose any standards if it’s negotiated anywhere. Notice that the standards have been weakened enough to upset environmentalists and they’re still too strong for the Bush administration (the airlines are also opposed to them). Typical.