9 U.S. Presidents With Worst Environmental Records - Legacy of Pollution and Destruction - thedailygreen.com
George W. Bush - "Worst Environmental President in History"
"A highly polarizing figure, President George W. Bush has been widely criticized for his dismal record on the environment. In fact, leading advocate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has said, "You simply can't talk honestly about the environment today without criticizing this president. George W. Bush will go down as the worst environmental president in our nation's history."
Kennedy's book Crimes Against Nature details how Bush has rewritten the nation's environmental laws in favor of industry and filled the ranks of regulatory agencies with former lobbyists and corporate executives.
Bush rolled back laws (and stymied enforcement) on air pollution and standards for arsenic in drinking water. He pushed to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other federal lands to destructive drilling, promoted mountaintop removal coal mining, stepped up logging on public lands, slashed support for family planning around the world, fought against fuel economy and other efficiency standards and deliberately dragged his heels on the issue of climate change. The Bush administration has been accused of politicizing and distorting government science, particularly when it comes to global warming, and even floated a plan for corporate sponsorship of landmarks (sometimes referred to as the "Pepsi Grand Canyon" fiasco).
George W. Bush is well known for his deep ties to the oil industry, and under his leadership oil companies have enjoyed the highest profits in the history of the world, while consumers suffer sticker shock at the pump, not to mention a flagging economy and an unpopular war."
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