In a recent press interview, Andre Heinz, the leading spokesperson on environmental issues for the Kerry campaign, talks about the potential impact of his step-dad’s environmental proposals if voters elect to dump Bush this November. Heinz, the middle son of Theresa Heinz Kerry and the late Sen. John Heinz (R-PA), is a self-proclaimed student of industrial ecology, having worked directly with environmental visionaries like architect William McDonough and author Paul Hawken. Prior to joining the Kerry campaign, Heinz doled out advice to government entities and corporations on behalf of the Natural Step, a sustainability consulting firm with a global clientele.

London’s "red" mayor, Ken Livingston, was widely believed to have gone "too far" a year ago when he announced a plan to hit commuters with a special congestion charge every time they entered the central city.

In response to pressure from environmental groups and the Norwegian government, Ford Motor Company decided last week to spare 400 electric vehicles from the wrecking ball. The futuristic vehicles will be sent back to Norway, their country of origin, for resale to willing consumers.

According to critics like the Wilderness Society, George W. Bush has distinguished himself as the President most at odds with wilderness preservation since passage of the Wilderness Act 40 years ago. Bush has signed off on adding just 530,000 acres to America’s wilderness legacy, the least of any President since Lyndon Johnson signed the Wilderness Act into law in September 1964. Additionally, the Bush White House has lobbied extensively for increasing oil and gas drilling on wilderness lands throughout the nationwide 106-million acre wilderness system.

This week’s column consists of brief excerpts from just a day or two of the anti-Bush press releases, op-eds and news stories that cross my desk. As many commentators have pointed out, the Bush environmental policy is rarely fully visible. To understand all its scorched-earth implications, you have to read the fine print in thick government regulations, Presidential orders and agency filings. But poring over that material is exactly what some dedicated environmentalists do.

Environmentalists were optimistic last week that a new federal report acknowledging that emissions from automobiles and power plants have contributed to warmer temperatures in North America since 1950 would lead to a policy shift by the Bush administration on global warming. But despite the report, a White House spokesperson reiterated that President Bush still believes that the connection between carbon dioxide emissions and global warming is inconclusive, and that voluntary reductions are sufficient for the time being.

The National Park Service believes that pollution from Denver and its suburbs is taking a toll on the fragile ecosystems of nearby Rocky Mountain National Park. If left unchecked, ecologists worry that effects similar to those of acid rain will wreak havoc on the park’s alpine environments.