White House takes the ostrich approach - June 25, 2008
According to the New York Times the White House has come up with a novel way of avoiding potentially tricky environment reports: not opening its mail.
The White House in December refused to accept the Environmental Protection Agency’s conclusion that greenhouse gases are pollutants that must be controlled, telling agency officials that an e-mail message containing the document would not be opened, senior E.P.A. officials said last week.
The Times goes on to say that the documents resulted from a Supreme Court decision that the EPA had to decide if greenhouse gases were a danger to health or the environment. After being confined to “e-mail limbo” a watered-down report with no conclusion will come out this week, it says.
Comments
When the government of the richest and most powerful nation on earth resorts to sticking its fingers in
its ears and loudly saying "I can't hear you! I can't hear you!
LA,LA,LA,LA,LA,LA!", just to avoid responding to an unpleasant truth, we know we've got real problems. When you consider that the issue threatens our very future, it gets even worse. And when you further realise that these bozos were elected, and are still supported by millions of Americans, and are not being hounded out of office amid gales of derisive laughter, it might just prompt one towards feelings of despair.
We are in big trouble.
Posted by: Marc Pengryffyn | June 26, 2008 12:42 AM
Is it appropriate to go for a cliche-ridden style reporting on a science blog ?'Ostrich approach' carries a connotation which is perhaps not supported/backed by ethological observations.
In literary contexts it is assumed that an ostrich hides its head beneath the sands in it's tough times.But ethological observations reveal that in situations of 'flee or flight' many birds are known to adopt an irrelevant posture -the so called 'displacement activity' of pecking on something non existent on the ground.For a reader like me who has an upbringing in 'science culture /atmosphere' such
reporting styles and that too on a reputed science blog of 'The Great Beyond 'stature appears odd.
Please do not mind this spontaneous fall out..it should be taken in a scintific zeal and spirit.
Posted by: Dr.Arvind Mishra | June 26, 2008 03:30 PM
Tactical genius, the White House has load of methods of dealing with bad news that are bordering on the brilliant: http://www.236.com/news/2008/06/25/the_white_house_is_rubber_ever_7365.php
Posted by: Alyssa Johnston | June 27, 2008 02:41 AM
Thank you very much for the great information.
Thanks
511 pants
Posted by: 511 pants | August 11, 2008 09:22 PM