Dubya, Polluter Lover

Bush was interviewed by a real journalist this week; which means Bush is outside of the USA. Trevor McDonald of the British show 'Tonight' proceeded to grill Bush on Iraq, global warming and Africa. As McDonald was asking Bush about his decision to go to war Bush starts to chuckle. You can read the transcript or listen to the interview here.

The interview exposes what a tool Bush is for corporations, especially those that pollute the most. Speaking of being a polluter-lover: Bush just appointed Granta Y. Nakayama to be Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Nakayama will lead the EPA's enforcement division. He might have some sleepless nights, as he is also a partner in a law firm whose clients include W.R. Grace, BP, Dow Chemical and DuPont.

W.R. Grace is under federal criminal indictment on charges related to the operation of its vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana. WRG employees and residents of Libby contracted lethal asbestos-related disease. Approximately 2,000 of those residents have lung abnormalities.

Vermiculite ore from the WRG mine was distributed across America. The Seattle PI claims that "between 15 million and 35 million homes nationwide have asbestos-tainted vermiculite insulation" from WRG in attics and walls. The EPA declared the WRG mine a "Superfund" site. WRG was ordered to pay the EPA $54 million in cleanup costs.

I hope Cooney left behind his bottle of White Out, uh before he resigned from his post as the chief of staff to the White House Council on Environmental Quality. If not, Nayakama can reach him at his new office at Exxon Mobil.