On Feb. 20, the George W. Bush administration put a focus on 11 different companies cutting back on emissions willingly, even though many people, including myself, believe the administration is not doing nearly enough to cut down the emissions that are considered to be warming the earth's atmosphere.
Brewers, electric utilities, household cleaner producers and steel manufacturers were just a few of the companies honored by the Environmental Protection Agency for generous efforts in cutting back greenhouse gases believed to cause global warming. Also important to be noted, according to the administration, is that the groups were doing it their way.
Last week, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., openly put down the administration's plan because it does not necessitate the firms to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The administration officials responded that bonuses from the market, instead of forced regulations, would be more effective overall because they would encourage businesses to reduce greenhouse emissions on their own.
"We do a whole lot better when we can get corporations to willingly step forward and say they're going to be aggressive about reducing their greenhouse gas emissions than for us to put in place a regulatory process," said EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman.
Opponents of the Bush plan are extremely doubtful. They say it does not ask companies to do enough to offset the environmental danger emissions pose.
"We've found that these voluntary programs just don't work," Lieberman said.
Also last Wednesday, some of the nation's biggest labor unions and environmental groups panned the administration's plan as inadequate.
President Bush revealed two environmental plans last week. The first one, named the "Clear Skies Initiative," agrees to cut back 70 percent of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and mercury emissions from power plants by 2018.
The other one calls for cutting greenhouse gas "intensity" by 18 percent during the next 10 years. Intensity is an interesting term. It really has nothing to do with actually cutting back pollution. It's really more of a financial word, measuring the level of emissions per dollar of economic output.
One of the firms honored last Wednesday by the EPA was General Motors, which pledged to reduce emissions at its auto making plants. GM said by 2005, it is going to reduce the 2000 emissions totals by 10 percent. That's a significant cut in growth. And that's the escape clause for most companies, environmentalists say: The cut is in growth of greenhouse gas emissions, not an overall cut in emissions.
What will actually happen with overall emissions? That's an important question that is still up for debate. I am happy some companies are beginning to do their part but that's just it - it's only the beginning. We have our future generations to think about and we need to protect the environment for them.
Write to Courtney at sturgeoncourtney@hotmail.com
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