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THE GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED
STATES
MEDIA ADVISORY
For immediate release:
Monday, July 15, 2002
Contacts:
Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator, 207-326-4576, nallen@acadia.net
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, scottmclarty@yahoo.com
Bush, supported by
Congress, jeopardizes the health and security of Americans, and
instead fulfills campaign promises to corporate contributors.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In the
midst of a global ecological crisis that the Bush Administration's own
studies have confirmed, the President continues to enact
corporate-friendly policies and legislation that aggravate the damage,
threaten public health, and compromise national security, charge Greens.
"We Americans place the
greatest burden on the environment, through CO2 emissions and
over-consumption," said Margaret Lewis, Congressional candidate in
NY State's new 20th Congressional District. "It takes 12.2 hectares
of land to support each American citizen, while it takes just half a
hectare to support someone in Burundi.
"The doubling of human
consumption by the developed world in the last three decades, with a
growth rate of 1.5% a year, has contributed to both the decimation of
the earth's resources and systems as well as the impoverishment of less
developed countries and a growing gap between rich and poor within the
US," added Lorna Salzman, Green candidate for Congress in New
York's 1st Congressional District and a longtime environmental activist
on Long Island. "We have total subservience [in Congress and the
White House] to corporate interests and to unsustainable levels of
consumption. Unless we change direction drastically within the next
decade, the entire fabric of the earth's ecosystems -- including
fisheries, forests, and freshwater -- will be shredded."
Members of the Green Party of
the United States are promoting positive US participation in the Earth
Summit, set to take place August 26 to September 4 in Johannesburg,
South Africa. But Greens despair that the interests of the American
people will be betrayed by the bullying anti-environmental stance of a
delegation sent by the Bush White House.
Greens cite a litany of
destructive Bush policies and sell-outs to corporate lobbies:
NUCLEAR WASTE DISPOSAL:
On July 9, the Senate voted 60 to 39 to override Nevada's objection to
the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump, demonstrating the influence of
the nuclear lobby over both Democrats and Republicans. In the 2000
election cycle, the nuclear industry gave nearly $14 million to
candidates and PACs, with more than 2/3 to Republicans.
"A truck or train
accident or terrorist attack would endanger thousands or more and cost
millions of dollars to clean up," noted Iowa Green Party
gubernatorial candidate Jay Robinson. "On July 9, Democrats once
again joined the GOP behind dangerous and regressive environmental
policy."
SUPERFUND:
The Bush Administration plans to cut funding for the Superfund cleanup
of 33 toxic waste sites in 18 states. Eric Schaeffer, a top enforcement
official at the EPA, resigned in February, accusing the administration
of undermining the agency's crackdown on industrial polluters. Congress
has refused to extend taxes on chemical and oil companies to fund the
cleanup. Chemical manufacturers such as Dow, DuPont, and BASF
contributed over $11 million to political parties in 2000, with over 9
million going to Republicans. Neighborhoods near the sites face health
risks from air, soil, and groundwater contamination.
ENERGY PLAN:
Over 100 business executives and lobbyists for oil, gas, and coal
industries crafted the Bush national energy plan promoting use of fossil
fuels and nuclear energy which cause health problems, pollution, and
global warming. These companies, including Enron, Chevron Texaco, and
Shell Oil, and lobbyists have made over $29 million in campaign
contributions to federal candidates since 1999, with 75% of that going
to Republicans.
"President Bush has made
the Oval Office the Oil Office," said Dr. Jonathan Farley,
congressional candidate from Tennessee.
CLIMATE CHANGE:
In April 2002, Dr. Robert Watson, an outspoken advocate of change in
global energy policies, was removed from his position as chair of the
UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, under pressure from Bush
officials acting in response to a memo from ExxonMobil, a major
Republican campaign contributor ($1,702,470 since 1999). Global warming
is expected to cause drought, raise sea levels, cause unstable weather
conditions, and increase the spread of infectious disease.
"When we condemn Bush's
withdrawal from Kyoto, let's not forget that Clinton, after signing on,
obstructed enactment of the Kyoto accords," said Vivian Houghton,
Green candidate for Delaware Attorney General. "The
delegation sent by Clinton, under the influence of the same fossil fuel
industries now dictating Bush policy, ccomplished this during the Hague
conference in November, 2000. Bush's withdrawal from the treaty was the
next logical step."
CLEAN AIR:
In June 2002, EPA chief Christine Todd Whitman announced repeal of part
of the Clean Air Act by ending New Source Review for power plants, which
requires new plants and older plants which are upgrading to install new
pollution technologies. The repeal will exacerbate the spread of asthma
(already epidemic among children in cities), cancer, and cardiovascular
disease. During the 2000 campaign, electricity, nuclear, mining and
petroleum industries gave over $65 million in political contributions,
with almost 50 million to Republicans.
MORE INFORMATION
The Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
National office: 1314 18th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Index of Green Party candidates in 2002 http://www.gp.org/patience.html
The World Summit on Sustainable Development ("Earth Summit 2")
http://www.johannesburgsummit.org
http://www.earthsummit2002.org
Sources of information:
Public Citizen http://www.publiccitizen.org
Natural Resources Defense Council http://www.nrdc.org
Center for Responsive Politics http://www.opensecrets.org
Green Midterm Convention (Philadelphia, July 18-21)
http://gpus.org/convention.html
Press credentialing for the convention: download an application
http://gpus.org/documents/credentials3.pdf
search:
regpol, evpol, gbl
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