Bush/Cheney Regime Lies About Dangers To Public Health From Global Warming
After the awful events of 9-11, the Bush regime followed with a terrible deceit.
The air quality in lower Manhattan near the site of the tragedy was harmful to people's health, but Bush's politicized EPA and its then head Christie Todd Whitman assured the public that the air quality was safe.
When she testified before Congress last year, according to a report by Democracy Now,
"...Whitman defended her record and refused to express regret for assuring residents and workers the air around Lower Manhattan was safe. She also denied what many believe drove her misleading statements—political pressure from the White House.
"Whitman also admitted she had not read the clinical reports from the Mount Sinai Medical Center’s World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program. A Mount Sinai study last year found seventy percent of around ten thousand Ground Zero workers developed new or worsened respiratory problems.
"Thousands of workers and residents have suffered respiratory problems and other illnesses. At least two deaths have been directly linked the toxic Ground Zero dust.
"The hearing was called by New York Democratic Congressmember Jerrold Nadler, whose district includes the World Trade Center. In his opening remarks Nadler had harsh words for the Bush administration’s assurances to Lower Manhattan residents.
"The hearing was called by New York Democratic Congressmember Jerrold Nadler, whose district includes the World Trade Center. In his opening remarks Nadler had harsh words for the Bush administration’s assurances to Lower Manhattan residents.
"REP. JERROLD NADLER: Our government knowingly exposed thousands of American citizens unnecessarily to deadly hazardous materials. And because it has never admitted the truth, Americans remain at grave risk to this day. Thousands of first responders, residents, area workers and students are sick, and some are dead, and that toll will continue to grow until we get the truth and take appropriate action.
Those false statements continue to the present."
Not only do they continue to the present, but new lies emanate from this deceitful, criminal regime concerning dangers to public health here in the US.
From the Washington Post: "Members of Vice President Cheney's staff censored congressional testimony by a top federal official about health threats posed by global warming, a formerEnvironmental Protection Agency official said yesterday.
"In a letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), former EPA deputy associate administrator Jason K. Burnett said an official from Cheney's office ordered last October that six pages be edited out of the testimony of Julie L. Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Gerberding had planned to say that the 'CDC considers climate change a serious public health concern.'
"Boxer, who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said the administration sought the changes for fear that Gerberding's testimony could trigger new controls under the Clean Air Act that would regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from burning fossil fuels. The White House has opposed mandatory limits and has insisted that voluntary measures and increased research are the best ways to address the issue.
" 'The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the Office of the Vice President (OVP) were seeking deletions to the CDC testimony,' Burnett, 31, a Stanford-trained economist and a Democrat, wrote in response to an inquiry from Boxer's committee. 'CEQ requested that I work with CDC to remove from the testimony any discussion of the human health consequences of climate change.'
"Several media outlets, including The Washington Post, reported at the time of Gerberding's testimony that the administration had revised her proposed remarks. White House officials justified the changes by citing doubts about the scientific basis of her testimony.
"Frank O'Donnell, who heads the advocacy group Clean Air Watch, said the revelations confirmed that the vice president has been steering environmental policy during President Bush's tenure.
" 'For years, we've suspected that Cheney was the puppeteer for administration policy on global warming,' O'Donnell said. 'This kiss-and-tell account appears to confirm the worst.' "
The Bush/Cheney regime is a master of deceit, anti-common good, and a danger to people in the US.
Yet, impeachment is still off the table.
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