Leave it to the NY Times
The rescue of the Florida Everglades, the largest and most expensive environmental restoration project on the planet, is faltering.
Seven years into what was supposed to be a four-decade, $8 billion effort to reverse generations of destruction, federal financing has slowed to a trickle. Projects are already years behind schedule. Thousands of acres of wetlands and wildlife habitat continue to disappear, paved by developers or blasted by rock miners to feed the hungry construction industry.
The idea that the federal government could summon the will and money to restore the subtle, sodden grandeur of the so-called River of Grass is disappearing, too.
Supporters say the effort would get sorely needed momentum from a long-delayed federal bill authorizing $23 billion in water infrastructure projects, including almost $2 billion for the Everglades.
But President Bush is expected to veto the bill, possibly on Friday. And even if Congress overrides the veto, which is likely, grave uncertainties will remain.
See, it is all Bush’s fault. If he wasn’t so mean and in the pocket of BigOil/Halliburton, it would be rescued, right?
But, hold on a second, let’s flip the virtual page and scroll down to the middle of the page till the true reasons are exposed
It went to President Bush last week, and he has pledged to veto it because, he says, it is stuffed with political pork. Other critics agree, and say the bill does not ensure that the most crucial projects, including those in Florida and Louisiana, would get the highest priority.
Also listed are issues with the Army Corps of Engineers and the fact that the bill really doesn’t address fixing the free flow of water correctly, along with a reliance on dubious technology.
Getting beyond the blam game, I personally think, as an environmentalist myself, that Congress needs to go back to the drawing board, take the pork out, and address the issues so that the Everglades can be rescued as much as possible. It is a national treasure, a place of beauty and wonder, to be preserved for ourselves and future generations.
I guess not much progress was made prior to 2006 when teh Congress and the White House were both under Republican control