Flower plucker!
Profit motive prevents Bush from caring for the Nature

(column by Kumar Anuj)

For Bush, oil means profits & politics. His politics is to build finance capital & his profits are to buy political capital. And he just hates all impediments like environmental concerns, which come in between his profit-maximising march. Emboldened after defeating one of the top American environmentalists Al Gore at the hustings, Bush has been ruthless in pursuing his not-so-green policies with impunity, & sadly with aplomb. On the important issue of environment, the radicalism portrayed by the Bush led Republicans has been mind boggling. Be it the refusal to accede to the Kyoto Protocol or the refusal to obey any international treaty that would reduce American economic growth projections, Bush’s misadventures know no limits. Former Vice President Al Gore told B&E, “The unwillingness to solve the climate problem is not only the result of a lack of political will, but it has also been caused by the emergence of a new political environment, dangerously hostile to reason, knowledge and facts. In the long-term, this poses a threat to the very basis of American democracy.”

The all important quest was and has always been the unquenched thirst or, for that matter, unflinching greed driven by the profit-seeking multinational companies. And at the receiving end then, has been the environment. Bush hates environment, but he has practical reasons for that, which are camouflaged in the unending control that multinationals have over the decision-making process of his administration. For example, Bush’s solution for controlling the rising energy bills of the Americans is to drill more oil from Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in north- east Alaska (which is an environmental nightmare!). Bush’s reasoning for enhanced supply is to help the consumers. But his dubious association with the US oil lobby suggests that the glib talk about not controlling the demand for energy is aimed at promoting the interests of his election fund raisers. And nothing proves this better than Exxon Mobil’s penchant to fund those who oppose climate change issues. Incidentally, the US is the maximum polluter in the world, accounting for around 34% of global emissions.

Bush fi nds it fatalistic to accept that Americans have caused global warming and that the energy industry, which has funded his political campaign should be held responsible (c'mon, at least he's loyal!). For him, the world is an island called the United States, and the rest of the globe’s only purpose of existence is to yield resources for the US. That's why increased funding for the pesticides industry gets approval by American Congress, even while changing climate patterns that might affect crop pattern in the prairies get ignored. In fact, Nature in November 2006 reported that the American administration blocked a scientific report, which stated that the intensity & frequency of hurricanes had increased due to high greenhouse emissions. The duplicity gets compounded when the US criticises the Third World for destruction of natural reserves. One really wonders, if Bush was a true blue believer in the power of God, he would fight as vehemently for protecting the Mother Earth, as he wages a war against those demanding abortion rights and euthanasia. For how long will Bush try to hide his commercial interests behind the rhetoric of ‘public good'? Hopefully till 2008 only!

(End of Kumar Anuj column)

Red + Green = Black or Brown?
Brown’s environmental friendly policies will endear him to the Brits

So what shade does the British Prime Minster-to-be Gordon Brown prefer? He was born brown but reared red (left predilections and Scottish connections made his favourite colour to be Red). The pragmatic Brown (under Blair’s New labour) has come to understand that these days blood red hardly sells. Therefore, Gordon has turned ‘green’ making it his natural choice, especially when ‘green talk’ is expected to top the charts among the public in the 2009 parliamentary elections. Desperately trying to be politically correct Gordon Brown is busy selling the idea of ‘count the carbon as well as the pennies’. According to Brown, if the public were to insulate their homes better and carry out environmental changes in their immediate surroundings, they would be in a position to save £5 a week and in turn help UK to doing something concrete about the renewable energy sources. We only hope Mr. Brown, you will continue to stick to green and not be a chameleon, once ensconced in the PM’s chair.

Putting the ‘green’ issue at the heart of his battle to win vote banks, Gordon has pledged to build ‘eco-towns’ solving both ecological concerns as well as demands for affordable housing. “Unlike President Bush, Gordon Brown is erudite and intelligent enough to understand the nuances of climate change and its impact on sustainable development. It would be harsh on Brown, if one were to ascribe all his domestic initiatives aimed at improving the climate on political expediency,” said Pervaiz Alam a former BBC World Service senior journalist, while speaking to B&E from London. And it is indeed his understanding of the implications of ignoring the climate change that is driving him in various international meets to harp upon doing something concrete about the renewable energy sources. We only hope Mr. Brown, you will continue to stick to green and not be a chameleon, once ensconced in the PM’s chair.