Environmental Groups Rally Public to Oppose Bush-backed Energy Bill

Interview with Sharon Buccino, Natural Resources Defense Council conducted by Melinda Tuhus

Exploration and exploitation of more energy resources has been a top priority of the Bush administration since it came into office almost three years ago. Now an energy bill is working its way through Congress with a final vote scheduled in the coming days. The legislation reflects the priorities of President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and others in the administration with strong ties to large oil companies. The energy bill calls for oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, exploration for oil and natural gas throughout the Rocky Mountain West and promotes the construction of new nuclear power plants for the first time since the 1970s.

The legislation is also significant for what it leaves out -- it requires no increase in motor vehicle fuel efficiency, even though such an improvement is technically achievable and could drastically reduce the amount of foreign oil the U.S. now imports. The bill also has no provisions mandating the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, the main contributor to global warming.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Sharon Buccino, program staffer with the Natural Resources Defense Council, who takes a critical look at the energy bill and a related effort by the Bush administration to weaken the National Environmental Policy Act, which solicits public input on key environment decisions by the federal government.

For more information, call the Natural Resources Defense Council at (202) 289-2397 or visit their website at www.nrdc.org

Related links

* Write your comments to the Council on Environmental Quality at www.whitehousegov/ceq or call (202) 395-5750

* Visit www.stopenergybill.org

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