Obama's stance on lands: He'll break with Bush

[babylonsister]

Obama's stance on lands: He'll break with Bush

By Les Blumenthal | McClatchy Newspapers


WASHINGTON — Here's the question: What does a community organizer from Chicago who spent four years in the Senate before being elected president know about spotted owls, endangered salmon, mountain bark beetles, Western water rights, old-growth forests and the maintenance backlog in the national parks?

The answer: Probably not much.

President-elect Barack Obama has offered only scattered clues as to where he stands on the most pressing public lands and endangered species issues.

In reading the tea leaves, however, environmental groups are optimistic, timber industry and land-rights groups are wary and an influential lawmaker excited about having an ally in the White House.

"This guy is a quick study and I'm sure he will find competent people," said Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., who as chairman of the House Appropriations interior subcommittee oversees nearly $28 billion in annual funding for the Interior Department, the U.S. Forest Service and the Environmental Protection Agency. "We will be able to work with him. Anything will be better than (President) Bush."

When it comes to the environment, Obama has focused his attention almost exclusively on global warming and clean energy. There are few references on his campaign Web site to on-the-ground issues, especially those specific to the West.

Obama received an 86 out of a possible 100 in the environmental scorecard for members of Congress published by the League of Conservation Voters. He was also a co-sponsor of a bill that would have protected about 58 million acres of federal lands. The Bush administration had sought to open up those roadless lands to development.


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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/226/story/56228.html

[navarth]

1. RFK Jr. as head of EPA would be SO sweet.

Am I wrong?

[babylonsister]

3. Some people think so.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15403.html

http://skeptico.blogs.com/skeptico/2008/11/robert-f-kennedy-junior-epa-autism-crank.html

No Way RFK

Several of my fellow skeptical bloggers have been getting worked up about the possibility – rumors really – that Robert F. Kennedy Junior might be chosen by Obama as the next head of the EPA. It’s encouraging to note that most science bloggers who have commented, realize it would be a really bad move to appoint such an anti-vaccine crank with so little understanding of science, to this position. Read what Orac has to say about Robert F. Kennedy Junior if you don’t know the details. In summary, RFK somehow got it into his head that autism is caused by Thimerosal in vaccines. To help confirm this idea, he read the transcripts of a medical conference that was set up to discuss any possible link, to see if he could find evidence of a cover up. Unsurprisingly, he found the confirmation and the evidence of a conspiracy he was looking for. But only by torturing the minutes of the meeting so the attendees appeared to be saying the exact opposite of what they did, actually, say. I read the detailed minutes myself and wrote two posts on RFK’s conspiracy mongering and RFK’s quote mining. You can see from all this that Kennedy first made up his mind about vaccines and then forced the evidence to match his previously made up position. And haven’t we had enough of that over the previous eight years? Yes, RFK would be a terrible choice.

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[navarth]

4. Okay, Looks like I'll have to delve further. Thanks for the info.

My brother is heavily involved with the EPA, I'll get him on the phone.

[terrya]

2. That's a pretty decent environmental record.

I think we'll see how committed he is with his choices for Interior Secretary and EPA chief. I think environmental groups will be pleased.