Black Box Recorder

There he goes again: Bush the scientist back at work

Ever get worried by all of these supposed environmental dangers out there - carcinogenic chemicals, global warming, massive dioxin releases in dense urban areas? Well, you shouldn't - according to George W. Bush, president and super-scientist. In fact, Bush thinks that any kind of poppycock "science" that points out these "dangers" should be abolished.

According to the Independent, the Bush administration is attempting to force Europe to drop safety tests designed to prevent thousands of people from developing or dying from cancer each year:

[Internal US government] documents - which include diplomatic cables signed by the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell - show that the Bush administration has threatened Europe with trade sanctions if it goes ahead with the tests, which are designed to protect workers and the public from highly toxic chemicals.
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The tests are designed to identify the most dangerous chemicals threatening Europeans, including cancer-causing and "gender-bender" substances, so that they can be controlled. Only a tiny proportion of the 100,000 or so man-made chemicals used in the EU has ever been tested for the effects on the people who use them.
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The European Commission estimates that it would prevent up to 4,300 cases of cancer a year among chemical workers alone; far more lives could be expected to be saved among the public at large.

UPDATE: Chirac and Schroeder, along with Blair, are backing a serious revision to the EU safety laws. Bush isn't the only one putting a dollar sign on people's lives.

Bush's contempt for science and disregard for human life are not limited to Europe, but encompass the entire world. Even scientific research carried out by the US government's own agencies is rejected:

White House officials have undermined their own government scientists' research into climate change to play down the impact of global warming, an investigation by The Observer can reveal.
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Emails and internal government documents obtained by The Observer show that officials have sought to edit or remove research warning that the problem is serious. They have enlisted the help of conservative lobby groups funded by the oil industry to attack US government scientists if they produce work seen as accepting too readily that pollution is an issue.

Central to the revelations of double dealing is the discovery of an email sent to Phil Cooney, chief of staff at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, by Myron Ebell, a director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI). The CEI is an ultra-conservative lobby group that has received more than $1 million in donations since 1998 from the oil giant Exxon, which sells Esso petrol in Britain.
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Other confidential documents obtained by The Observer detail White House efforts to suppress research that shows the world's climate is warming. A four-page internal EPA memo reveals that Bush's staff insisted on major amendments to the climate change section of an environmental survey of the US, published last June. One alteration indicated 'that no further changes may be made'.

The memo discusses ways of dealing with the White House editing, and warns that the section 'no longer accurately represents scientific consensus on climate change'.

Some of the changes include deleting a summary that stated: 'Climate change has global consequences for human health and the environment.' Sections on the ecological effects of global warming and its impact on human health were removed. So were several sentences calling for further research on climate change.

A temperature record covering 1,000 years was also deleted, prompting the EPA memo to note: 'Emphasis is given to a recent, limited analysis [which] supports the administration's favoured message.'

White House officials added numerous qualifying words such as 'potentially' and 'may', leading the EPA to complain: 'Uncertainty is inserted where there is essentially none.'

But surely Bush would never do anything to specifically harm honest, god-fearing Americans? On the contrary: these recent moves follow the suppression of the EPA report that found that the World Trade Center site was the single largest release of dioxins in human history - a decision which has put thousands of New Yorkers at risk of long-term health problems.

Remember: If you are not willing to shoulder your patriotic duty to breathe in toxic chemicals while living in a deteriorating environment so that American business can remain profitable... then the terrorists have already won.