Democracy Uprising
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      This new model for upholding labor law may…

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      The Seattle Protests Showed That Another World Is…

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      Reviving the General Strike

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      Jeff Bezos Has Enough! It’s Time for a…

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      A new wave of movements against Trumpism is…

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      Jordlösa kombinerar radikala visioner med praktiska reformer (Swedish)

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      Hacer Que Nuestras Demandas Sean Tanto Orácticas Como…

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      C’è più di un modo per colpire il…

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      Is Market Access the Answer to Poverty? (in…

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      2006: A Global Justice Year in Review (In…

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      Hacer Que Nuestras Demandas Sean Tanto Orácticas Como…

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      Las reformas no reformistas de André Gorz

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      Wall Street quiere que les estemos agradecidos

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Democracy Uprising

  • About
    • About Mark Engler
    • About Democracy Uprising
  • Books
    • This Is An Uprising
    • How To Rule the World
  • Topics
    • All Book Reviews Environment Essays / First Person Global Economy Immigration Labor Latin America Social Movements Religion U.S. Politics / Elections War / Militarism
      Social Movements

      Could we be entering a ‘movement moment’ against…

      Social Movements

      Trump’s backpedaling shows he’s not invincible

      Blog

      It’s going to take multiple strategies to win…

      Social Movements

      A new wave of movements against Trumpism is…

      Latest Articles

      How to make sure your disruptive protest helps…

      Social Movements

      Why protests work, even when not everybody likes…

      Social Movements

      Harold Washington’s lessons for taking on a political…

      Social Movements

      Strategy is a Craft

      Book Reviews

      The Pan American

      Book Reviews

      The Godfather of Microcredit

      Book Reviews

      Capitalism as Catastrophe

      Book Reviews

      Four Ways of Looking at an Aztec Eagle

      Book Reviews

      The Ascent of Niall Ferguson

      Book Reviews

      Ordinary Outrages

      Book Reviews

      No Better Place

      Book Reviews

      In God’s Country

      Environment

      Why Wendell Matters

      Environment

      The Gulf at the Gas Station

      Environment

      Climate Disobedience

      Environment

      Farming the Everglades

      Environment

      The Winter of the Climate Denier

      Environment

      Climate of Change: An “Inside-Outside” Strategy Against Global…

      Environment

      Provoking an American Climate Crisis

      Environment

      The Real “Farmer” Story: So God Made High-Fructose…

      Essays / First Person

      Is Rambo Still A Republican?

      Essays / First Person

      On the Price is Right

      Essays / First Person

      The Last Porto Alegre

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      Six Essays About War and About Peace

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      Republicans Among Us

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      New York Says “No”

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      The Sideshow Rebels

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      A Week in New York

      Global Economy

      Meet the Bailout’s New Slush Fund for Corporate…

      Global Economy

      The Seattle Protests Showed That Another World Is…

      Global Economy

      Jeff Bezos Has Enough! It’s Time for a…

      Global Economy

      The Amazon Effect: Sweat, Surveillance, Exploitation

      Global Economy

      The Godfather of Microcredit

      Global Economy

      Capitalism as Catastrophe

      Global Economy

      Immigration Economics: An Interview with Professor Giovanni Peri

      Global Economy

      The World Is Not Flat

      Immigration

      When Undocumented Activists Infiltrated ICE

      Immigration

      The Children of Intervention

      Immigration

      Immigration Economics: An Interview with Professor Giovanni Peri

      Immigration

      Science Fiction From Below

      Immigration

      Four Ways of Looking at an Aztec Eagle

      Immigration

      Treated Like a Criminal

      Immigration

      When Sanctuary is Resistance

      Immigration

      The Massive Immigrants Rights Protests of 2006 Are…

      Labor

      This new model for upholding labor law may…

      Labor

      Democrats Won Power in Several States. Will They…

      Labor

      The Case for a Social Distancing Wage

      Labor

      The Seattle Protests Showed That Another World Is…

      Labor

      Reviving the General Strike

      Labor

      Jeff Bezos Has Enough! It’s Time for a…

      Labor

      There’s Still Power in a Strike

      Labor

      The Amazon Effect: Sweat, Surveillance, Exploitation

      Latin America

      How movements can maintain their radical vision while winning…

      Latin America

      The Pan American

      Latin America

      Lessons from the Pledge of Resistance

      Latin America

      The Children of Intervention

      Latin America

      Against Shithole Nationalism

      Latin America

      The Last Porto Alegre

      Latin America

      Kissinger Is Not Our Friend

      Latin America

      Even If You Have Nothing to Hide

      Social Movements

      Could we be entering a ‘movement moment’ against…

      Social Movements

      Trump’s backpedaling shows he’s not invincible

      Social Movements

      It’s going to take multiple strategies to win…

      Social Movements

      A new wave of movements against Trumpism is…

      Social Movements

      How to make sure your disruptive protest helps…

      Social Movements

      Why protests work, even when not everybody likes…

      Social Movements

      Harold Washington’s lessons for taking on a political…

      Social Movements

      Strategy is a Craft

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      In God’s Country

      Religion

      Reverend Billy’s Holiday Shopocalypse

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      Toward the “Rights of the Poor”

      Religion

      The Pope and the Poor

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      Will the Next Pope Embrace Liberation Theology?

      Religion

      Remembering Romero

      Religion

      John Paul II’s Economic Ethics

      Religion

      Against the God of Free Trade

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      Could we be entering a ‘movement moment’ against…

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      Trump’s backpedaling shows he’s not invincible

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      It’s going to take multiple strategies to win…

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      A new wave of movements against Trumpism is…

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      Harold Washington’s lessons for taking on a political…

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      Strategy is a Craft

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      Think #MeToo didn’t make a real difference? Think…

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      This new model for upholding labor law may…

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      Does It Make Sense to Protest a President…

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      Lessons from the Pledge of Resistance

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      Is Rambo Still A Republican?

      War / Militarism

      War: The Wrong Jobs Program

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      The Ascent of Niall Ferguson

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      Those Who Don’t Count

      War / Militarism

      Six Essays About War and About Peace

      War / Militarism

      The Dangerous Dignity of War

  • Translations
    • All Arabic Thai Chinese Deutsch Español Français Italiano Japanese Português
      Translations

      Jordlösa kombinerar radikala visioner med praktiska reformer (Swedish)

      Español

      Hacer Que Nuestras Demandas Sean Tanto Orácticas Como…

      Italiano

      C’è più di un modo per colpire il…

      Português

      As reformas não reformistas de André Gorz mostram…

      Español

      Las reformas no reformistas de André Gorz

      Deutsch

      Die nicht-reformistischen Reformen von André Gorz

      Italiano

      Richieste dei movimenti: sia pratiche che visionarie

      Chinese

      泛美洲人 爱德华多·加莱亚诺的世界 (Chinese)

      Arabic

      Abandoning the World Bank (in Arabic)

      Arabic

      The Return of Daniel Ortega (in Arabic)

      Arabic

      Where’s The Jubilee? (in Arabic)

      Arabic

      The Last Porto Alegre (in Arabic)

      Arabic

      Seattle At Five (in Arabic)

      Arabic

      Is Market Access the Answer to Poverty? (in…

      Arabic

      Mexico’s Democratic Transition Still Incomplete (in Arabic)

      Thai

      Progressive Good Tidings of 2007 (in Thai)

      Thai

      2006: A Global Justice Year in Review (In…

      Thai

      WTO: Best Left For Dead? (In Thai)

      Thai

      Is Market Access the Answer to Poverty? (In…

      Thai

      Bush’s Bad Business Empire (In Thai)

      Thai

      The Last Porto Alegre [Thai]

      Thai

      Globalizers, Neocons, or… ? (in Thai)

      Chinese

      泛美洲人 爱德华多·加莱亚诺的世界 (Chinese)

      Chinese

      Why Wendell Matters (in Chinese)

      Chinese

      Globalization’s Watchdogs (in Chinese)

      Deutsch

      Die nicht-reformistischen Reformen von André Gorz

      Deutsch

      Als Martin Luther King seine Feuerwaffen aufgab

      Deutsch

      Mikrokredite: Die Entlassung eines Nobelpreisträgers

      Deutsch

      CAFTA – am besten stillschweigend beerdigen

      Deutsch

      Bush in Mexiko

      Deutsch

      Das globale Duell in Evian

      Deutsch

      Die Rückkehr des Daniel Ortega

      Español

      Hacer Que Nuestras Demandas Sean Tanto Orácticas Como…

      Español

      Las reformas no reformistas de André Gorz

      Español

      ¿Adoptará el nuevo papa la teología de la…

      Español

      Wall Street quiere que les estemos agradecidos

      Español

      Si Las Monjas Se Fueran a una Huelga,…

      Español

      ALEC retrocede; a la derecha le da un…

      Español

      ¿ALEC disgustado ante la pérdida de patrocinadores? Se…

      Español

      La vida en la nación prisión

      Français

      La révolution non-violente a-t-elle échoué en Egypte?

      Français

      Le pari risqué du populisme au Pérou

      Français

      Hong Kong Phooey

      Français

      Bush Nuit Même Aux Compagnies U.S.

      Français

      Le dynamisme du mouvement pour la paix

      Français

      La déroute de l’ALCA dans une Miami en…

      Français

      Ceux qui ne comptent pas

      Français

      La guerre en Irak : une expo des…

      Italiano

      C’è più di un modo per colpire il…

      Italiano

      Richieste dei movimenti: sia pratiche che visionarie

      Italiano

      La strategia di Gandhi per il successo –…

      Italiano

      Le promesse infrante di Obama

      Italiano

      Guantanamo deve sparire

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      IL BANK TRANSFER DAY: UN SUCCESSO

      Italiano

      Come il movimento Occupiamo Wall Street si sta…

      Italiano

      Economia tabù

      Japanese

      ガンジーはどのように勝利したのか? (Japanese)

      Japanese

      Truth Versus Superpower (Japanese)

      Japanese

      Bush’s Bad Business Empire (Japanese)

      Japanese

      Revenge of the Combat Cartoonist (Japanese)

      Japanese

      Bush’s Uneasy Mexican Visita (Japanese)

      Japanese

      Mark Twain in Iraq (Japanese)

      Japanese

      Globalization’s “Lost Decade” (Japanese)

      Japanese

      Hawks Say the Damnedest Things (Japanese)

      Português

      As reformas não reformistas de André Gorz mostram…

      Português

      A vida na Nação Prisão

      Português

      Outro pretexto?

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      Imigração tem efeito positivo sobre emprego e salários

      Português

      O império hipotecado

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Environment2003-2004

Greenwashing The Truth

by Mark Engler April 1, 2003
written by Mark Engler April 1, 2003
Greenwashing The Truth

Bush’s Environmental Strategy: Suppress, Ignore, Preempt.

Published on AlterNet.


In the ongoing battle to protect the natural world, environmental impact statements and Environmental Protection Agency reports serve to alert the public about dangers that too often remain cloistered within the scientific community. Disclosures should be used as tools to help safeguard public health and the environment.

But that’s not how they are handled within the Bush administration. Several recent incidents show that, when faced with environmental crises attributable to business interests cozy with the White House, the administration has developed an alternative response: Suppress, Ignore, Preempt.

A scandal has been brewing in Washington, D.C., since The Wall Street Journal reported February 20 that the EPA delayed releasing a critical environmental report on children’s health for nine months. The document warns that mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants pose serious heath risks for kids. Up to 8 percent of women of childbearing age have dangerously high levels of mercury in their blood, high enough to greatly increase risk of neurological damage to infants.

It appears that President Bush’s first instinct upon hearing this alarming information was to cover his tracks and to protect his corporate buddies: If not spun properly, public outrage about deep ties between the industries responsible for the mercury emissions and the Bush administration could prove politically explosive. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) blasted the suppression of the report, charging the White House with “sacrificing our children to special interests.”

Months of delay—and possibly consultations with energy industry chiefs—allowed time for the president to craft his new “Clear Skies” initiative. Announced during the State of the Union address, the proposal sounds rosy enough, and it purports to cut mercury emissions. But its primary political purpose is to derail stricter regulations. Internal EPA documents show that full enforcement of existing Clean Air Act requirements would allow power plants to emit only five tons of mercury, as opposed to the 15 tons permitted by “Clear Skies.”

The Bush administration has yet to come up with a more obnoxious response to environmental warnings than this sort of suppression—but that’s not for lack of trying. Another environmental story that broke in late February—the decision to reverse a ban on snowmobiles in select national parks—shows a second way in which the Bush administration deals with inconvenient reports: It simply ignores them.

Outraged by a Clinton-era plan to gradually eliminate the use of snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, the vehicles’ manufacturers sued. As a result, the new Bush administration ordered a supplemental environmental impact study. It ultimately decided to eliminate the ban.

Here’s the problem: The second impact study reached the same conclusion as the first — that snowmobiles wreak environmental havoc. As Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) explains, “There’s a reason that park rangers wear gas masks at the west entrance of Yellowstone. It’s because they’re subjected to chemical assault.”

It turns out that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)—a law designed to make public the environmental consequences of government decisions—simply requires the Bush administration and the Parks Service to study the environmental impact of their policies. They don’t have to listen to their own advice. Sound illogical? Drawing on some fine bureaucratic newspeak, Yellowstone National Park Planning Director, John Sacklin, offers a helpful clarification: “The agency-preferred alternative does not necessarily have to be the environmentally preferred alternative.”

Willful misinterpretation is another method through which the Bush administration ignores what environmental impact studies actually say. In 2001, the White House requested that the National Academy of Sciences sort out the evidence on global warming. After the Academy returned its report, President Bush focused on portions detailing “Uncertainties in Climate Prediction,” suggesting that global warming was a disputed concept.

What he failed to address were the Academy’s central conclusions: That global warming is a real threat, that it has intensified in the past 20 years and that greenhouse gases like CO2 are the most likely cause. When the administration’s own EPA fortified these facts in 2002, placing even clearer blame on power plant emissions for causing climate change, President Bush shrugged off the findings as a “report put out by the bureaucracy.”

“He says he wants sound science to guide the debate, yet he dismisses and avoids anything that doesn’t mesh with his political views,” says Dr. Susanne Moser of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

And finally, today’s White House dislikes even the small chance that a suppressed, ignored or misinterpreted report could cause them embarrassment. They would prefer that alarming documents were never written in the first place.

With this goal in mind, the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) opened a review of NEPA in June 2001. In need of a fox to guard the hen house, Bush selected James L. Connaughton—a former mining and chemical industry lobbyist—as CEQ chairman. Not surprisingly, the panel is exploring broad “categorical exemptions” to allow corporate developers to avoid reporting requirements.

Shamelessly exploiting the nation’s feelings of insecurity, the CEQ claims that the exemptions are needed to keep terrorists from learning too much about the nation’s infrastructure. That the public will remain in the dark about the impact of a wide range of environmentally sensitive projects, the CEQ argues, is a sad but necessary sacrifice.

The attack on NEPA is part of a larger move to usher in a new era of government secrecy. This effort has been highlighted by Vice President Dick Cheney’s steadfast refusal to reveal the names of business executives and lobbyists who met with his 2001 Energy Task Force.

If this drive towards secrecy prevails, it won’t be necessary to suppress or ignore many politically damaging reports. Such disclosures simply won’t exist. And if public outrage over environmental damage wanes as a result, that’s all to the good in the eyes of the Bush administration and its corporate allies. They would rather avoid the truth—and its consequences—altogether.

__________

Research assistance for this article provided by Katie Griffiths. Photo credit: United States Environmental Protection Agency / Wikimedia Commons.

Mark Engler

Mark Engler is a writer based in Philadelphia and an editorial board member at Dissent magazine. His latest book, written with Paul Engler, is entitled This Is an Uprising: How Nonviolent Revolt Is Shaping the Twenty-First Century.

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In God’s Country

August 19, 2003

Six Essays About War and About Peace

May 6, 2004

Farming the Everglades

December 1, 2003

Republicans Among Us

September 3, 2004

Is Rambo Still A Republican?

November 1, 2004

Why Wendell Matters

August 5, 2004

The Gulf at the Gas Station

August 12, 2010

Climate Disobedience

August 11, 2009

Treated Like a Criminal

March 1, 2003

Those Who Don’t Count

May 9, 2003

In God’s Country

August 19, 2003

Six Essays About War and About Peace

May 6, 2004

Farming the Everglades

December 1, 2003

Republicans Among Us

September 3, 2004

Is Rambo Still A Republican?

November 1, 2004

Why Wendell Matters

August 5, 2004

The Gulf at the Gas Station

August 12, 2010

Climate Disobedience

August 11, 2009

Treated Like a Criminal

March 1, 2003

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The Author

Mark Engler is a writer based in Philadelphia and an editorial board member at Dissent magazine. His latest book, written with Paul Engler, is entitled This Is an Uprising: How Nonviolent Revolt Is Shaping the Twenty-First Century (Nation Books). Mark’s full bio is available here.

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Mark’s Articles Appear In:

  • Dissent
  • The Nation
  • The New Republic
  • N+1
  • Salon.com
  • The Los Angeles Times
  • Waging Nonviolence
  • Boston Review
  • The Atlantic
  • Rolling Stone
  • The Guardian
  • In These Times
  • TomDispatch
  • New Internationalist
  • Yes! Magazine
  • Audubon Magazine
  • Jacobin
  • Mother Jones
  • Le Monde diplomatique
  • Grist Magazine
  • Rebelión
  • The San Francisco Chronicle
  • The Progressive
  • Newsday
  • openDemocracy
  • Truthout
  • Christian Science Monitor
  • Dollars & Sense
  • Progreso Semanal
  • Chicago Reader
  • Sin Permiso
  • Baltimore Sun
  • The Ecologist
  • TruthDig
  • Asia Times
  • Sierra Magazine
  • Labor Notes
  • New Politics
  • The Catholic Worker
  • The Des Moines Register
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

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