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 How George W. Bush Administration's Policies Harm Florida Communities There Is a Better Way to Protect Florida's Families and Communities
Florida is rich and abundant with wetlands, waters, and wildlife. Regardless of the season or region, we Floridians enjoy a special relationship with our natural inheritance. We know that protecting our state's natural resources and beauty makes Florida's economy stronger and our families healthier. From the waters that surround Florida to the multitudes of inland lakes; the Everglades rich in unique wildlife and wetlands to the Suwannee River; natural resources have always been important to our residents and civic leaders. Today, however, our state's treasured environment has been put at risk by the George W. Bush administration's policies which weaken and ignore federal environmental safeguards, and which are already harming our communities' health and our natural heritage. The Bush administration is enabling corporations to benefit at the expense of Florida's families by allowing electric companies, chemical companies, coal companies, and other industries to weaken the laws and regulations that protect public health and safety. The president's administration has allowed electric companies to build more outdated, polluting coal-fired power plants instead of requiring them to use modern technology to cut pollution or encouraging them to build cleaner facilities relying on renewable power generation. These policies put Florida's women and children at increased risk of mercury poisoning. The administration has also put the Everglades at risk of widespread mining, threatening the drinking water in several of Florida's metropolitan areas, and it has blocked efforts to reduce raw sewage overflows throughout the state. The administration's undermining of our nation's most basic environmental protections leaves the people of Florida exposed and vulnerable to increased amounts of development-retarding mercury, raw sewage, and other contaminants. Delaying requirements to reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants puts our citizens-especially women and children-at risk. This report documents the consequences of Bush administration actions-and lack of action-on the health and safety of families in communities across Florida. It also serves to remind us what we have learned over the last thirty years-that there is a better way; that we have the know-how and a successful track record cleaning up the pollution in our air and water and the poisons in our soil. But know-how, effective laws, and proven technological solutions are clearly not enough when the Bush administration is determined to let corporations off the hook, weaken the regulations that reduce pollution, and strip funding from the agencies responsible for enforcing environmental laws. Only public pressure on lawmakers will ensure that the last three decades' of progress are not lost, and that we instead continue to keep our communities safe, protecting our children's legacy of clean air, water, and still-wild lands. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club |
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