Carl Pope discusses some "outbreaks of enlightenment" in Washington, D.C. Check ’em out.
Of particular note is the fact that Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-Va.) refused to insert language in the Defense Authorization bill that would have exempted the Defense Department from several environmental laws. The Pentagon has been after Congress for such exemptions for years, with mixed success. (We’ve reported on it many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many times. We’ve also reported many, many, many, many, many, many times on the Pentagon’s various environmental sins.)
Every time, the DoD talks vaguely of how "training" and "readiness" might be threatened. And never — never once — has it been able to cite an example wherein actual training or actual readiness was impacted, at all, by environmental compliance. It’s about a) the money, and perhaps even more so, b) Donald Rumsfeld’s umbrage at the thought that a bunch of commie treehuggers can tell him what to do.
