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LONG BEACH (coup2k.com) April 15, 2001 -- Three Greenpeace activists anchored themselves to a water tower in President Bush's home town Friday, unfurling a written 20x30-foot banner, which read: "Bush: the Toxic Texan. Don't Mess with the Earth." The organization now admits it failed to consider Bush's rather obvious limitations, vis-à-vis literacy, when planning the action.
"When you've been in the environmental activism movement as long as we have, it's natural to go with what you know," said Andrea Durbin, Greenpeace Campaigns Director. "It's easy to rely on traditional forms of protest and communications, without carefully considering the target. It never occurred to us that Resident Bush was unlikely to get our message. We are used to being ignored -- just look at the media -- but until now, we've never had a Resident with the limitations Bush has... just a Vice President. I'm not making excuses, but we're in uncharted waters, here."
This action, coming as it did just days before Greenpeace holds the first "Take Back the Earth Day" on Wednesday, April 18, was intended to kick-off the countdown to the big event. Though the group's message reached some in the public, as they had hoped, it failed to reach the Accidental Resident. "Well, hell," said Durbin, "it's the thought that counts. And at least we have thoughts!"
Greenpeace was moved to action by the string of atrocities against the earth's environment Bush has carried out as a gesture of appreciation to big corporate polluters -- his major campaign contributors.
"In a matter of weeks, the President has rolled back decades of environmental gains," Durbin declared. She went on to list some examples:
Withdrawing U.S. support of the global warming agreement, known as the Kyoto Protocol; Relaxing drinking water standards; Supporting oil drilling in the Arctic Refuge and other public lands; Reducing forest protections; Slashing budgets for environmental protection; and Weakening the Endangered Species Act.
Texas environmental groups, including Public Citizen of Texas, the Texas SEED Coalition, Texas Campaign for the Environment and the Texas field office of U.S. PIRG, joined Greenpeace Friday in a joint letter delivered to Bush. The letter states: "We are writing to express our outrage over your Administration's aggressive attack on the environment... The stances of your Administration, both current and in Texas, have been to back the interests of polluters, especially oil, mining and timber interests."
"Bush thinks by making a pro-environmental announcement on Earth Day and planting a tree he's compassionate about the environment," added Durbin. "The problem is his administration plans to trash the earth the other 364 days. From the state of Texas to nationwide to globally, the President must protect the people, not the polluters."
The groups, admitting their error in the planning the Crawford action, amended the letter today, and forwarded it the Resident. The letter now goes on to say, "To the person reading this letter: Please, whoever you are, take a moment to find a White House staffer willing and able to read this communication to George W. Bush on our behalf. Please!"
ACTION ALERT: "TAKE BACK THE EARTH DAY"
Join Greenpeace: Demand Enrivonmental Accountablitity, Not Meaningless Gestures
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