Bush Budget: Silver Linings and Shopworn Ideas

President Bush’s proposed 2008 budget takes a few positive steps toward cleaner energy and better stewardship of natural resources, but the proposal also shows that the administration is still clinging to shopworn ideas, Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP), a national grassroots organization with elected officials as members, said today.

“We appreciate the president’s proposed increases for cleaner energy development, including wind, solar, ethanol, and advanced batteries for plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles. The administration’s 19 percent increase in biofuels funding will speed the development of cellulosic ethanol and reduce America’s dangerous dependence on oil,” REP Government Affairs Director David Jenkins said.

“At the same time, however, the administration continues to advocate its misbegotten idea to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which would perpetuate the nation’s dangerous dependence on oil,” Jenkins said.

“The administration must make up its mind on the nation’s energy future. If the president’s welcome words about economizing, diversifying and cleaning up America’s energy supply are to mean something, the administration must stop pushing rearguard ideas that will weaken energy security, damage our natural heritage, drive up costs, and increase greenhouse gas emissions,” Jenkins said.

“In addition, increased funding for cleaner energy technologies will have limited value unless the administration supports limits on emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The new technologies won’t get a foothold in the energy market until the market sends a signal that dumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is no longer free,” Jenkins said.

“A truly conservative energy policy will focus on efficiency and diverse supplies that don’t impose hidden costs on society and on future generations,” Jenkins said.

“On natural resources stewardship, the good news in the proposed budget is a 14 percent increase in funding for national parks, which urgently need the money to hire more rangers and take care of the nation’s crown jewels,” REP Policy Director Jim DiPeso said.

“The bad news is the president proposed only half the money needed to properly care for our national wildlife refuge system. Budgets for the nation’s 545 refuges are so threadbare that tragically, plans have been announced to cut staff and visitor services at the nation’s first wildlife refuge, Pelican Island in Florida, established by Theodore Roosevelt in 1903,” DiPeso said. “This is a travesty for our nation’s heritage and a violation of traditional conservative values of stewardship.”

“The budget again proposes selling national forest and BLM lands, a fiscally irresponsible idea that amounts to selling the furniture to pay the light bill. Last year, loud, clear, and bipartisan opposition in Congress and throughout the West killed this poorly conceived proposal. Apparently, the administration has a tin ear and is again trying to sell a piece of shoddy merchandise that few want,” DiPeso said.

“Proposed cuts in funding for the National Landscape Conservation System would leave spectacular Western wilderness areas and monuments vulnerable to vandalism of their archaeological resources and damage from out-of-control off-road vehicle thrill seekers,” DiPeso said.

“Also, we are disturbed by proposals for sharp cuts in proven stewardship programs that help communities and private property owners conserve open space and working forests, including the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Forest Legacy,” DiPeso said.

Alan Gray is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of NewsBlaze Daily News and other online newspapers. He prefers to edit, rather than write, but sometimes an issue rears it’s head and makes him start hammering away on the keyboard.

Content Expertise

Alan has been on the internet since it first started. He loves to use his expertise in content and digital marketing to help businesses grow, through managed content services. After living in the United States for 15 years, he is now in South Australia. To learn more about how Alan can help you with content marketing and managed content services, contact him by email.

Technical Expertise

Alan is also a techie. His father was a British soldier in the 4th Indian Division in WWII, with Sikhs and Gurkhas. He was a sergeant in signals and after that, he was a printer who typeset magazines and books on his linotype machine. Those skills were passed on to Alan and his brothers, who all worked for Telecom Australia, on more advanced signals (communications). After studying electronics, communications, and computing at college, and building and repairing all kinds of electronics, Alan switched to programming and team building and management.

He has a fascination with shooting video footage and video editing, so watch out if he points his Canon 7d in your direction.