Wildlife Groups See End Of Bush Environment Abuse
US: November 14, 2008
WASHINGTON - US conservation groups on Thursday hailed the imminent end of
"environmental abuse and neglect" by the Bush administration and promised to
work with President-elect Barack Obama to reverse this course.
"The Bush administration has done a lot of damage to our nation's
environmental protections over the last eight years," said Mike Daulton, the
National Audubon Society's legislative director.
"And nowhere is that more evident than the Bush administration's drilling
policies, which have been slanted dramatically toward the oil industry."
Daulton noted that President George W. Bush last summer withdrew an
executive ban on offshore drilling, which he said eroded protections for US
beaches and coastal economies.
Obama's election last week "defeated candidates who focused on a
drill-everywhere policy and the inauguration will sweep two oilmen from the
White House," Daulton said in a telephone briefing with other conservation
leaders.
"Eight dismal years of environmental abuse and neglect are now coming to an
end," said Betsy Loyless, Audubon's senior vice president.
IMMEDIATE ACTION
Daulton said his environmental group and others would urge Obama and
Congress to quickly fashion a clean energy package that cuts costs for
consumers, reduces dependence on oil and does not rely on offshore drilling.
The conservation leaders also stressed the need for immediate action to deal
with the impact that global warming is having on natural resources.
Robert Dewey of the Defenders of Wildlife suggested developing a national,
cross-agency strategy to make climate change a top priority. It would
include increased scientific capability and the dedication of federal funds
to conservation measures.
This money could come from a portion of revenues that would be generated
from a federal program to cap and trade carbon emissions, Dewey said.
Obama, who takes office on Jan. 20, has repeatedly said climate change is a
key issue. But others in Congress and the environmental community doubt
cap-and-trade legislation could be passed before 2010 at the earliest.
Another high priority, said John Kostyack of the National Wildlife
Federation, is to undo the Bush administration's erosion of protections
under the Endangered Species Act.
The Bush team has had "overt hostility" to this law, Kostyack said, so a
first step for the new administration and Congress should be to restore the
legal protections for wildlife under threat.
Kostyack also noted a welter of last-minute regulations on the environment
meant to extend Bush administration policies after Obama takes office. These
should be reversed, he said.
(Editing by Xavier Briand)
Story by Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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