an even older note to the great one

January 28, 2002

Mr. George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington DC 20500-0001

Dear Mr. Bush:

Re: The BushCheney Energy Plan

Last week I heard a brief clip of you talking about the BushCheney Energy Plan in which you stated that you would not release the minutes of the meetings that Mr. Cheney held in developing your administration’s energy plan. In addition you stated that no one had accused you of any wrongdoing in the development of the energy plan. The implication in your statement was that you would release the minutes if you were accused of wrongdoing. So here is the accusation that you requested (from me, a mere citizen of the United States of America):

1. It appears that Enron and several other large oil and energy company bought special access to your administration with their large donations to your election campaign and to the Republican Party. The proposed plan heavily favors certain corporations.
2. It appears that the energy plan was not developed with any concern for the public good. If it were, conservation, renewable and alternative non-polluting energy sources would have been included in the plan. The proposed plan appears to focus almost entirely on a fossil fuel based energy future. It is inconceivable that anyone taking an objective look at all the available options could have derived such a lopsided plan.
3. As the President you are (at least should be) in charge of the preservation of our natural resources and protection of our environment. As such your proposed plan appears to be criminally negligent in its lack of concern for the environment. The release of meeting minutes should prove whether Mr. Cheney followed the minimum standards of a federal environmental impact statement. These studies are required for small projects (roads, buildings, developments) that could at most impact microenvironments. Surely something with such an overreaching effect on our global environment as a national energy plan would have to undergo a rigorous environmental impact statement?

Based on the administration’s reaction to the GAO’s request for documents and the fact that I am a citizen (not a corporation with a big wallet), I fully expect my request to go straight to the trash. For what it is worth I intend to pursue all possible avenues under the Freedom of Information Act, with my congressional delegation and environmental groups. I have a passing interest in the degree to which your administration has been willing to sell favor to big corporations. However that the influence peddling is so self-evident in this case and it is such a widespread and ingrained problem within the two-party system that it is almost irrelevant. I have a bigger interest in the gross negligence and malfeasance involved in developing an energy plan that seems designed to maximize air and water pollution and environmental destruction. I find it utterly absurd and embarrassing that this country is charting a course for unabated energy waste and environmental destruction for the rest of my lifetime and probably that of my nine-year old son.

Furthermore your administration’s penchant for secrecy suggests a basic hostility to democracy and the freedom of the citizens of this country. Perhaps I am misjudging your administration’s actions in developing an energy plan, I would love to be proved wrong. However with your secrecy and stonewalling it is unlikely you will convince any critics.

Sincerely,



Nic