Bush's energy 'plan' explained...?
From the moment George W Bush announced he was running for president, $50m came in from Texas-based energy companies.
But they are hundreds of millions of dollars better off from his time as governor of Texas - and because of decisions taken in the first months of his presidency.
When it comes to pollution, Texas is champ, the number one state in emissions of greenhouse gases and toxic chemicals.
...
As Texas governor, Mr Bush quietly set up a committee led by Exxon, with other big oil and chemical companies, to advise him what to do about the state's deadly air pollution. Regulators wanted compulsory cuts in emissions of up to 50% - this "secret" committee instead proposed making the cuts voluntary.
The bill passed and pollution did go down - by just 3% - saving the companies hundreds of millions of dollars compared to the compulsory cut.
And there has been a bonus for chemical industry donors since Mr Bush became president.
The BBC's Newsnight programme learnt he is quietly restricting public access to estimates of the number of people who will burn or die in the event of a catastrophic explosion near these plants.
And from the same article, a little table:
Biggest industry donators to Bush campaign
Enron $1.8m
Exxon $1.2m
Koch Industries $970,000
Southern $900,000
BP Amoco $800,000
El Paso Energy $787,000
Chevron Oil Corp $780,000
Reliant Energy $642,000
Texas Utilities $635,000
news.bbc.co.uk
Planning a better future for us all... especially those who don't breathe. |
