The Last Days of the Bush EPA

Making News

President Mugabe's Advisors Discuss Ceding Power in Zimbabwe ()

President Robert Mugabe has run Zimbabwe for 28 years, but it's reported today that his advisors are negotiating a way for him to resign. This comes three days after an election, the results of which have not yet been released. But Mugabe appears to have lost to Morgan Tsvangirai. Peter Godwin, who grew up in Zimbabwe, is author of When a Crocodile Eats the Sun.

Guests:

• Peter Godwin: author, 'When a Crocodile Eats the Sun'

Links:

• Morgan Tsvangirai, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
• Simba Makoni

Main Topic

The Last Days of the Bush EPA ()

The Environmental Protection Agency has been told by the US Supreme Court that it's time to determine if greenhouse gases are a danger to public health. If they are, then tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks should be regulated accordingly. A year has passed since the order, but nothing's been done, and despite repeated promises from President Bush, it now appears that won't happen as long as he's in office. Conservative think-tanks and industry lobbyists say the court didn't know that its ruling could shut down the economy. Environmentalists say they'll go back to court.  Does inaction represent prudent public policy or foot dragging for special interests?  

Guests:

• Doug Obey: Senior Correspondent, Inside EPA
• Marlo Lewis: Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute, @ceidotorg
• David Bookbinder: Chief Climate Counsel, Sierra Club
• Juliet Eilperin: National Environmental Reporter, Washington Post, @eilperin

Links:

• Clean Air Act
• Henry Waxman (D-CA) requests improperly withheld EPA documents
• Statement on EPA Response to Supreme Court Decision, Competitive Enterprise Institute on
• Buckbinder's testimony to House Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming
• EPA's denial of a waiver to California on its stricter law against greenhouse gas emissions
• Eilperin's article on Al Gore's new climate campaign

Reporter's Notebook

The 'War on Terror' and the American Justice System ()

There's a report today that President Bush is willing to compromise on a bill expanding government power to spy on Americans without search warrants. It's the latest story about a program once shrouded in so much secrecy that high-level officials were willing to lie about whether their own lawyers thought it was legal. The outlines of the National Security Agency's program for eavesdropping without court orders are now well known. It's been reported that former Attorney General John Ashcroft refused to approve it, even when White House aides lobbied him in his hospital room. But the New York Times withheld publication for more than a year, because Bush Administration officials insisted it was vital to national security, and that Justice Department lawyers said it was okay. That's according to Bush's Law: The Remaking of American Justice, by Times investigative reporter Eric Lichblau.

Guests:

• Eric Lichtblau: Investigative Reporter, New York Times