By Joshua Daniel Hershfield, 9/27/06
The Bush administration has blocked the release of a report
that connects global climate change to an increase in the strength and
frequency of hurricanes. This move comes
in the wake of an outpour of scientific information that ice in Antarctica and
the Arctic circle is melting faster, that the
global temperature is rising more dramatically, sea levels are rising more
rapidly, and that the deterioration of the ozone layer is even more drastic
than previously predicted.
The United
States holds a particularly strong hand in
the cause of depletion of the ozone layer.
In 2005, the Bush administration obtained exemption for the use of
nearly 23 million pounds of the pesticide methyl bromide. According to Alexander von Bismarck of the
Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), “U.S. methyl bromide use will have a
greater impact on the ozone layer than all the CFCs produced in the rest of the
world.” In addition, US oil giant
ExxonMobil last year distributed $2.9 million to 39 groups that misrepresent
the science of climate change.
The Bush administration and their cohorts have consistently
denied the reality of environmental destruction and climate change. This most recent act of censorship proves
once again that their interests lie with oil corporations rather than with the
health of people and the earth. Their
actions beg the questions: Is economic power and control more important to them
than life on this planet as we know it?
Is it not absolutely criminal to endanger the lives of every human being
on the planet by increasing the likelihood of devastating hurricanes, flooding,
poisoning, and cancer? Can any progress
be made while this regime remains in power?
It is scientifically possible to drastically alter the
course of environmental destruction and climate change, but how can it happen
if all our energy is going towards war and conquest? We are in a desperate situation, and driving
the Bush administration from power may be an essential step to altering this
course of environmental catastrophe.