Global Warming: Bush is doing to World what he did to New Orleans

Green Party of the United States
www.gp.org

Monday, February 5, 2007

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org

Greens call Bush's tampering with scientific research on global warming an impeachable offense

• Congress must hold Bush accountable for placing U.S. and world at risk by manipulating scientific reports to fit reckless, pro-corporate energy policies

• "Bush is doing to the world what he did to New Orleans"

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party leaders demanded that Congress hold the Bush Administration accountable for tampering with scientific research on global warming, calling President Bush's interference and dishonesty an impeachable conspiracy to commit 'high crimes and misdemeanors.'

"The Bush Administration is doing to the whole world what it did to New Orleans as Katrina began to descend on the city," said Rebecca Rotzler, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States and Deputy Mayor of New Paltz, New York. "By altering scientific research on global warming to fit his political agenda and refusing to take necessary steps to protect the public, President Bush has aggravated an impending environmental, public health, and security crisis.

Greens cited mounting evidence of such tampering, including complaints from more than 120 scientists from seven federal agencies that they've been pressured to remove references to global warming from research reports, press releases, and communications with Congress <csmonitor.com/2007/0131/p01s04-uspo.html?s=hns>. 

Last week, scientists from 113 countries meeting at the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in Paris warned that destructive effects of global warming, in which human consumption of energy has led to a global concentration of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases in the earth's atmosphere, were probably inevitable, with a likely temperature rises of 3.2-7.1 degrees Fahrenheit <news.yahoo.com/s/ap/...climate_change>. (Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: <ipcc.ch/SPM2feb2007.pdf>) 

"Congress must recognize the Bush Administration's tampering with studies on global warming and other scientific research as an impeachable offense," said Jody Grage, treasurer of the Green Party. "Ever since Vice President Cheney initiated private meetings with oil company representatives to determine energy policy, the administration has placed the demands for corporate profits over urgent human and environmental needs."

Green Party leaders called recent news of a White House directive that gave President Bush greater control over the rules and policy statements that federal government agencies develop to protect the environment, public health, and safety (as well as civil rights and privacy) <nytimes.com/2007/01/30/washington/30rules.html> further indication that the Bush Administration was manipulating public policy in these areas to benefit favored corporate interests.

The Green Party has called for the U.S. to sign on to the Kyoto accords and to take the lead on a 70% reduction of CO2 emissions, as well as a rapid transition to clean and secure alternative energy sources, energy conservation, reduced reliance on cars, and a phase-out on fossil fuel dependence and nuclear energy. The party advocates restructuring of local, national, and global economies, with investment and creation of new jobs in conservation and conversion to renewable solar and wind power, taxes on fossil fuel consumption, and bans on new drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other wilderness areas.

Greens have already called for impeachment of President Bush and Vice President for deceiving the public about the U.S.'s reasons for invading Iraq and numerous other abuses of power. News of a proposed law giving U.S. and U.K. oil companies lucrative 30-year deals to extract Iraqi oil has confirmed that oil company interests are driving U.S. energy policy, and that desire for U.S. corporate control over Iraqi oil fields was a major motivation for the Iraq War <news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2132569.ece>. 

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