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CLARION LEDGER EXPOSES BUSH ADMINISTRATION EFFORTS TO SHIFT KATRINA BLAME TO ENVIRONMENTALISTS An article in today's Clarion Ledger (Jackson, MS) by investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell exposes a well-coordinated effort by the Bush administration officials and its allies to reassign blame for damage caused by Hurricane Katrina to environmental groups. That article can be found at: http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050916/NEWS0110/509160369/1260 The article references a Department of Justice e-mail to U.S. Attorneys' offices seeking information about whether they have "defended any cases on behalf of the Army Corps of Engineers against claims brought by environmental groups seeking to block or otherwise impede the Corps work on the levees protecting New Orleans?" In response to the Justice Department e-mail and related efforts by the House Resources Committee, the Sierra Club issued the following statement: "In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Bush administration has faced significant criticism due to failures preparing for and responding to the catastrophe that hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region. Now the administration's emissaries are trying to deflect that criticism by shifting the blame to environmentalists. According to a story in today's Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi, it is evident the administration has initiated a "witch hunt" to discredit conservation groups. "The Justice Department e-mail obtained by the Clarion-Ledger makes clear that the Bush administration is more interested in building a case to deflect blame than actually investigating what went wrong before, during, and after the crisis. These actions only underscore America's need for an independent task force - modeled after the 9-11 Commission -- to get honest facts and make recommendations for how to improve emergency prevention and management into the future. "It is not only the Bush administration that is wasting taxpayer dollars on a witch hunt. The House Resources Committee, led by Congressman Richard Pombo (R-CA), has tried to blame the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the disaster that struck the Gulf, sending out a sensational press release and scheduling a 'dog-and-pony' style hearing this weekend in Norfolk, Virginia. Like the Bush administration, Pombo's NEPA Task Force aims solely to manufacture blame and weaken a law that gives local communities a say in what the federal government does in their backyard and makes sure that government agencies minimize the impact of federal projects on air, water, and people. "On the heels of Hurricane Katrina, when there is widespread distrust as to whether government can protect the public, it is vital that we have in place mechanisms to hold government accountable. There are right ways and wrong ways to design a highway or even build a levee. By ensuring that there is good science and local input, the government is much more likely to get it right." For more information on the inaccurate accusations against Sierra Club and other conservation groups, please visit: http://www.sierraclub.org/pressroom/releases/pr2005-09-13a.asp ### |
