Well-known environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., could write a book on what he views as the failings of George W. Bush's environmental policy.
Oh wait, he has written a book, and Oldsmar's Chris Piccone says the book has changed his life.
Piccone helps out at John Kerry's campaign headquarters in Tampa. Usually, he campaigns door to door or makes telephone calls. If asked to, he would empty garbage cans.
His motivation comes from Kennedy's book Crimes Against Nature , a strongly worded depiction of Bush's environmental policies.
"I looked at my daughter and said this can't happen," Piccone said. "I have to go to bed at night knowing I'm doing everything I can to help my daughter's future."
Kennedy, the son of assassinated 1968 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, is hoping his book will have the same impact throughout the United States. He appears at 5 tonight with actor Meg Ryan at the Tampa Theatre, and you can bet his comments will be a stinging rebuke of Bush.
"This is the worst environmental president we've had in American history," Kennedy said during a telephone interview Monday.
Kennedy's three children have asthma. While the rising rate of asthma among children - it's quintupled during the past 25 years - cannot be blamed specifically on pollution, Kennedy said the rate of asthma attacks is directly related to bad air coming from many of the nation's 1,100 coal-burning plants.
According to Kennedy, 70 of the worst offenders faced prosecution during the Clinton administration. Bush, however, halted the investigations after he took office.
Why? Kennedy says you don't have to look beyond the $48.3-million the energy industry gave to the Republican Party during the 2000 campaign.
"I've never heard of someone accepting money from criminals who were targeted for investigation and then ending those investigations and prosecutions after they're elected," Kennedy said. "People will mention that President Clinton pardoned (billionaire) Mark Rich, but he's just one guy. This is 70 different criminals."
Kennedy argues that Bush has tried to mask his environmental track record by adopting policies with misleading names, such as the Clear Skies Act. He also says the administration has suppressed or ignored scientific data.
But such actions, he says, can't hide the fact that high levels of mercury contamination have led the Environmental Protection Agency to declare freshwater fish unsafe to eat in 19 states, including Florida.
So much for the fishing campout with the kids.
Kennedy had his own mercury level tested by doctors who told him it was three times above normal, for reasons that are unclear. If the level of mercury in his system was in a woman's womb, that woman's newborn would likely be cognitively impaired and would possibly have permanent brain damage, he said.
If it sounds like Kennedy is trying to scare you, it's because he's alarmed about Bush and his relationship with corporate capitalists. Kennedy says the president's cronyism threatens not only the environment but also our lives and our democracy.
One big question looms. If the Bush administration is eviscerating 30 years of successful policies, how come the environment isn't a bigger campaign issue?
"If he gets re-elected, it will be because of negligence by the American media," Kennedy said. "When I talk to Republicans, they are as indignant as Democrats. Unfortunately, no one knows it's happening because of the media."
Ouch. The truth is that me and the rest of the journalistic world are more likely to attend Kennedy's talk tonight to get a glimpse of Ryan. Yet his message is more meaningful than Meg's cute smile and well-intentioned political involvement.
Somehow, we have to realize that even though birds aren't falling from a brown sky and Bonefish Grill has enough seafood to stay in business, long-term environmental issues matter because of Kennedy's kids, Piccone's daughter and all the children counting on the world being here tomorrow.
