Air Quality Under the Bush Administration
             President Bush faced many issues when he ran for the office of the President in the new millennium. One of continuing concern since his swearing in on January 20, 2001 is the air quality in the United States. While Bush presented an environmentally friendly front during his campaign, a look at his activities in the environmental arena since his election reveals other agendas at work. Bush, like many elected officials, has ties to major supporters of his election campaign. In his case, some of the main supporters are executives of powerful U.S. energy companies. This is not surprising since Bush comes from Texas, the state recognized as the energy capital of America. However, a look at changes to our environmental legislation during Bush's administration shows that President Bush has used the power of the presidential office to favor energy companies. While Bush remains in the White House, our air quality is at risk.
             Air quality, as well as the methods for achieving cleaner air, consists of a broad range of concerns. To narrow down this topic, one can look at the power industry and power plant emissions in this country. In particular, older power plants are some of the biggest contributors to deteriorating air quality because of the high levels of toxic emissions from their operations. Decades ago, legislators and voters began to recognize the serious impact of power plants on the U.S. environment, as well as the environments of other countries. The Clean Air Act, the primary federal law governing air quality, was devised and enacted in 1970 in response to demands for protecting the air we breathe.
             Continuing concern led Congress to enact an additional piece of legislation called New Source Review (N.S.R.) 25 years ago. According to an article by Bruce Barcott in The New York Times, N.S.R. involves an "obscure and complex set of environmental rules and regulations" (Barc...