Bush Versus the Environment (Paperback)

~ Robert S. Devine (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The bias of this book is proenvironment, but National Geographic writer Devine (Alien Invasion: America's Battle with Non-Native Animals and Plants) is no impassioned polemicist. Indeed, he opens his pragmatic overview of the current administration's environmental policies by regretting that few presidential appointees-let alone mid-level staffers or even media relations people-responded to interview requests or even to fact-checking questions. Some of his overview is compelling, particularly a firsthand report on the rural poor of Pennsylvania's coal country, whose high incidence of asthma, lupus and renal cancer is related to emissions from the kind of coal-fired plant not required (through Bush's rollback of Clinton's policies) to install pollutant-reducing equipment. Some of his overview is heavy going, particularly a detailed study of the "bean counters" at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), who, he says, selectively used statistics to often underplay the adverse impact of weakened environmental protections. And some of his overview, at least for anti-Bush buffs, covers familiar areas of concern and conflict: suppression of data on global warming, controversy over increased logging to prevent forest fires, opening up wilderness areas for snowmobiling, the stealth seeding of an array of scientific advisory panels with proindustry, antiregulatory appointments, etc. Devine believes that a majority of Americans still favor a balanced yet progressive approach to the environment-qualities that he thinks are glaringly absent from what he casts as Bush's unblinking vision of "profit before protection."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

When even his staunchest allies concede that the environment is Bush's Achilles' heel, writers intent on scrutinizing the president's policies might very well stagger under a preponderance of evidence against an unabashedly antienvironment administration. So challenged, veteran journalist Devine painstakingly analyzes how, where, and why the Bush White House began compiling what is frequently considered the worst environmental record in presidential history. Borrowing a page from the president's own "them-against-us" playbook, Devine appropriately positions his expose in similarly adversarial terms. Of necessity when examining an administration with a penchant for communicating in simplistic, black-or-white language, Devine assiduously researched the gray areas found in both federally funded and privately commissioned studies of major environmental issues to uncover the facts hidden behind the White House facade.

Buttressed by carefully annotated and sourced references, this book presents a compelling portrait of an administration with a clear-cut agenda. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Anchor; First Edition edition (June 8, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400075211
• ISBN-13: 978-1400075218
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,010,104 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Stunning Indictment, August 26, 2006

By	S. Potter "thepothole" (Mapleville, RI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The title says most of what you need to know. But unlike many political works, it does not simply focus on "Bush-bashing", but rather looks at the report card for the current administration (at least up to summer 2004). Mr. Devine does point out that there are some successes by Bush et. al., but brings an environmental reporter's skill in digging into the minutae of all the reports, good and bad.

And what he finds is truely terrifying if you enjoy clean air and water. Rolling back the last few decades worth of environmental protections and progress, the Bush administration seems to be more interested in the quick, short-term buck than future health of people and well being of the planet. I know that sentence, ending with "the well being of the planet", seems to sound extreme, but it applies. As Mr. Devine shows, many of the cronies that are in high-ranking spots seem to think that there is no connections in the environment and that one species exists in a vacuum related to the rest.

I taught biology and environmental science for 10 years, and I knew there was reason to worry about what was going on in Washington D.C. by 2004. This book provides a clear and well done explaination why; not just on the face of what I knew from science journals, but also into the machenations of the White House and its finatial doners.

4.0 out of 5 stars More anti-Bush than pro-ennvironment, August 9, 2004

By	G. Newby "Alphonso Kelley" (Memphis, TN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As much as I'm inclined to do so, I can't really attack this book. In fact, its a pretty good attempt to delineate the many ways in which president Bush is selling America's environment right out from under our feet, not that we really need a book to tell us that. I essentially agree with every claim the author makes: that the White House encourages lawsuits against the government as a way of weakening policy, that Bush appoints like-minded anti-regulatory staff to head up the major environmental departments, and that the president is doing everything he can to pave the way for exploitation of America's last pristine wildernesses.

What I really don't agree with is the author's reading of Bush's motives. It's fairly vogue among the left just now to paint the president in the most cynical and self-serving terms. But that isn't quite the case. I'm no Bush fan, but it ought to be obvious to even the crudest observer that the president has more weighing on him than merely the demands of the fatcat lobby, which is what Devine seems to imply. In addition, I think Devine adopts a tone of desperation, as though this may just be America's last hurrah. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In numerous ways, the Bush years will only further the liberal cause. Sure, the president's agenda is frightening. But he's such a poor administrator that he has no idea how to achieve it. From both a liberal and a conservative perspective, the Bush presidency will prove to be a flop, simply because of the president's lack of ability. The environment will be fine, and so will the rest of us.