Issue #206 April 19, 2007 Poppin' Pills at EPA Josh Dorner Whenever I hear the latest Bush administration babble, I can't help but think that I've fallen through the rabbit-hole since they couldn't possibly have said something so plainly idiotic. As such, this week's doublespeak on global warming emissions from the EPA reminded me of the song "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane -- "one pill makes you larger/and one pill makes you small." The Bush administration seems to have taken whatever pill makes up become down and bigger mean smaller, what with EPA Administrator Steve Johnson hailing increased CO2 emissions as proof that the administration's global warming policy is working. Johnson reported that in 2005, emissions grew .8 percent -- or some 70 MILLION TONS. This is, Johnson argued, proof positive that "the Bush administration's unparalleled financial, international and domestic commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions is delivering real results." Those results were real all right, including a real-ly bad 2.8 percent increase in emissions from power plants. Breaking campaign promises, refusing to regulate global warming emissions (until the Supreme Court inconveniently rules against you that is), walking away from Kyoto, giving away billions to your friends at Big Oil, silencing scientists, not raising fuel economy standards, and trying to hoodwink everyone into thinking that liquid coal and nukes are renewable is certainly an unparalleled commitment…to being the worst president ever. Seriously. I'm sure that a Department of Energy report issued the very same day (oops!) really killed their buzz over at EPA. It quite correctly pointed out that any decrease in the growth of emissions might have maybe possibly had something to do with a little thing that happened in 2005 called Hurricane Katrina, which led to serious disruptions to the economy and brought the energy sector to its knees. It's not surprising that EPA might have forgotten about that, since the administration seems to have developed an unfortunate case of amnesia about all things Katrina. Who'd have thought that the Bush administration would beat me to the punch in disputing its own misinformation?

RAW is the Sierra Club's weekly e-mail update in which our team of Sierra Club correspondents bring you humorous insights about environmental stories you won't want to believe.

Subscribe to RAW.

Tell a Friend about RAW.

View previous editions of RAW.

Become a Sierra Club Member.

Want to keep up with the Sierra Club's latest activities and news?
Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the Sierra Club's flagship e-newsletter sent out twice a month. The Insider provides everything from information on new reports and issues to planning great hiking trips to how you can help change environmental policy. View recent editions of the Insider.