Bush environmental policies criticized

Ed Koch and Mary Manning

Tuesday, July 2, 2002 | 9:50 a.m.

Nevadans may detect signs over the Fourth of July holiday that their favorite wilderness spots are disappearing or will be ruined by Bush administration environmental policies, an environmental group said today.

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group, at a news conference in Henderson, condemned President Bush for not protecting the public health or preserving the environment by weakening laws that would keep the timber, oil and nuclear industries and other polluters in check.

"We've documented 16 different ways that the Bush administration is threatening the public health and environment," said David Allen, a field organizer based in Las Vegas for the nonprofit advocacy group.

At issue for Nevada's environment include threats from air, land and water pollution, from high-level nuclear waste burial at Yucca Mountain and to endangered species, the PIRG report says.

Allen said visitors to the state's forests this weekend, especially the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, "could find their favorite spots cleared -- cut and already gone."

"Five years from now, the lovely vistas we enjoy could be covered with a thick haze from pollutants," he said. "America's environment is at risk, and Nevada will experience the administration's worst attacks on the environment and in very real, very local ways."

Nearly 3.2 million acres of forests in the state would be protected under the Roadless Area Conservation Rule of 2001, but that regulation has been stalled by the Bush administration, PIRG said.

In addition, 60 power plants in the state have benefited from weakened laws that allow increased pollutants into the air. That coupled with the Clark County School District being one of the largest in the nation, "will cause great risk to children."

Dan Geary, executive director of the National Environmental Trust in Nevada, agreed, noting that more than 11,500 children live and play within 30 miles of a coal-fired power plant in Nevada, increasing their risk of developing asthma.

White House spokesman Ken Lisaius said today that the president through his "Clear Skies" initiative and other policies has and will continue to protect the environment.

"His (Bush's) efforts with Clear Skies and for renewable energy has been supported by a number of environmentalist groups," Lisaius said. "The president's record is clear as governor of Texas, and as president (he has) concern for the environment. But policies must be balanced with common sense."

The Environmental Protection Agency said Monday that Bush's Clear Skies initiative would reduce air pollution from America's power plants by 70 percent.

By 2010, the EPA said, 67 percent of coal-fired generators in Nevada, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Guam and American Samoa will have emission controls. By reducing fine particles by 2020, the same states and territories will reap $129 million in health benefits, EPA said.

PIRG is canvassing door-to-door in the Las Vegas area to spread its message and garner support. The organization is urging Nevadans and all Americans to send letters to the White House encouraging the president for stronger environmental protection laws.

Environmental groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council are praising the Senate's Clean Power Act, co-sponsored by Sens. Jim Jeffords, I-Vt., and Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn. The Senate bill would cut both fuel-burning pollutants by 75 percent and heat-trapping carbon dioxide by 25 percent.

"The White House proposal is a smokescreen for thousands of needless deaths, and billions of dollars in excess health care costs," said David G. Hawkins of the council. "Instead of saving these lives, the administration is actually fighting tougher pollution safeguards."

Other issues that PIRG is working on include pollution from gold, silver and copper mines, fuel efficiency in cars and trucks, energy efficiency for air conditioning and the administration's close relationship to oil and natural gas producers in the West.