Bush and the Environment

Beating Around the Bush

In his three years as President of the United States, George W. Bush has managed to completely eliminate the ambivalence many American people have always felt towards the leader of their country. Perhaps this is why John F. Dickerson and Karen Tumulty refer to him as "the Great Polarizer" (28). His policies have divided the country into two fiercely opposing groups: those who feel his confidence and forceful personality make him the ideal president, and those who believe his stubbornness, coupled with his public speaking abilities, are an embarrassment to the nation. No president in recent history has come close to separating the American people in such an acrimonious way. One major source of controversy caused by President Bush is the condition of the environment. Most people would agree that protecting the natural world and its resources is essential to the American way of life and the survival of future generations. However, the conflict arises when discussing to what extent it is our responsibility to control the amount of environmental destruction that occurs. Those who support Bush and his regulations assert that an unconscionable amount of environmental safeguards will inhibit the growth of our businesses and, therefore, our economy. People who oppose Bush rationalize that the condition of the environment directly reflects the overall quality of life in our country. America cannot be successful without caring for the most important aspect of our lives: the land itself. Although it is necessary for Americans to use nature in order to provide affordable products and services to its people, the Bush administration's current environmental policies are inadequate in keeping the country clean and safe for its inhabitants. The ridiculously excessive use of natural resources in addition to the exorbitant amount of pollution and waste discarded destroys the land and its nonhuman inhabitants, puts the health of our people in severe danger, and causes numerous damages that will eventually lead to large-scale environmental crises in the future.

Even before he was elected, George W. Bush began discussing his views on environmental policy and its effect on the American people. He made many promises to protect the environment of the United States throughout the course of his presidential campaign, including the regulation of carbon dioxide emissions into the air, which inevitably causes global warming. Before Bush became president, there were many laws in place that protected the environment. The Clean Air Act, for example, was established to regulate the amount of pollution released into the air. This act instructed the EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency, "to publish National Ambient Air Quality Standards for specific pollutants. The decisions on which pollutants to regulate and at what level they were to be regulated are based on health and welfare criteria" ("The White