How to Ferret Out Bush's Midnight Regulations

Published November 23, 2008 @ 09:26AM PT

Oil shale on fire There are dozens of irritating federal protections of endangered critters and plants, wilderness lands, public health, the rights of workers, and more that have long bugged the Bush-Cheney administration. So the White House is using the last several weeks of its tenure in the White House to rewrite the rules on many laws that -- unlike, say, the Constitutional right of habeas corpus -- it couldn't ignore, overturn, or re-define.

Unstopped, these pro-business midnight regulations are sure to give the incoming Obama-Biden administration a laissez-faire economics hangover.

At least a couple of the midnight regs will undercut the new president's climate-friendly intentions for environmental and energy policies. One would prevent officials from factoring climate change into saving threatened and endangered animals and plants. Another would effectively create a whole new business for the oil industry in mining oil shale on up to two million acres of public lands in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.

ProPublica is crowdsourcing assistance in expanding its master list of the Bush-Cheney administration's midnight regulations. Review ProPublica's guide to ferreting out Bush's midnight regulations, and send tips to suggestions -AT- propublica -DOT- org .

Global warming related highlights from the master list midnight regulations: "Uranium Mining Permits Near Grand Canyon Could Increase"..."The Interior Department Could Approve Construction Projects with Less Concern for Protected Species"..."Public Lands May Be Leased for the Development of Oil Shale"..."EPA Lets Factory Farms Decide If They Need A Permit to Discharge Animal Waste into Waterways"..."Less Reporting of Animal Air Pollution Proposed"..."Some Power Plants Could Be Exempted from Installing Pollution Controls"..."Interior Rules Could Limit Public Environmental Comments"...

Related coverage from ProPublica:

Bush Rule on Oil Shale Highlights Partisan Divide in West

California Attorney General Demands That Bush Halt Endangered Species Rule Changes

Can Obama Turn Back The Clock On Bush’s Midnight Rules?

Bush Forces Deregulation in Waning Days of Administration

Image: Oil shale on fire. U.S. Department of Energy, via Wikimedia Commons

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Comments (4)

As a nation and can do so much more for the envrieonment. However families can do it on their own. All of these non-profits truly excist just to give someone a paycheck. The climate is fine and just going through normal cycles. A lot of people just want to make money and will take it from the middle class as they always do. Hey Obama, just leave us alone!

Posted by Gary T on 11/23/2008 @ 02:58PM PT
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The climate may be going through a normal cycle. We are not sure yet. The normal cycle is 117,000 total ice age years average - then 12,000 average temperate. An ice age would completely wipe out the nation that the left hates most, the US. This why they are so upset, their schedule seems delayed. We have other reasons to curb emissions. Fuel supplies are owned by dictaters and pollution is obvious in any big city.

Posted by Charlie Reed on 11/26/2008 @ 04:30AM PT
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We are pretty darn sure, Charlie. And trust me, as a former environmental activist, love of something is much more long-term motivational than hate!

I could not have tried to do that work oh so long ago, or even do what I do now (environmental journalism), unless, I fundamentally believed in the worth of this nation, and its capacity to change for the better. I sure ain't doing it for the money!

Posted by Emily Gertz on 11/26/2008 @ 07:54AM PT
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I am both a conservative and an environmentalist I have been both since before most people could spell either word. I am not pointing a finger in any one direction but one observation I have made is that in spite of the fact that the U.S. is often in the lead on these issues (not always). It is the country that they love to hate. We need to solve global warming globally, not by shipping U.S. factories to China and Mexico. To further complicate things though some of our immigration issues could be solved if we did move more industry to Mexico. Hmm... complicated planet

Posted by Charlie Reed on 11/26/2008 @ 10:23AM PT
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