Another notch in the "worst of all time" list for this clown.

I was not surprised, but dismayed, to read this today that Bush has loosened or totally removed the rules governing mountaintop removal:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 — The Bush administration is set to issue a regulation on Friday that would enshrine the coal mining practice of mountaintop removal. The technique involves blasting off the tops of mountains and dumping the rubble into valleys and streams.

Graphic

Mining Mountains

It has been used in Appalachian coal country for 20 years under a cloud of legal and regulatory confusion.

The new rule would allow the practice to continue and expand, providing only that mine operators minimize the debris and cause the least environmental harm, although those terms are not clearly defined and to some extent merely restate existing law.

The Office of Surface Mining in the Interior Department drafted the rule, which will be subject to a 60-day comment period and could be revised, although officials indicated that it was not likely to be changed substantially.

The regulation is the culmination of six and a half years of work by the administration to make it easier for mining companies to dig more coal to meet growing energy demands and reduce dependence on foreign oil.

Government and industry officials say the rules are needed to clarify existing laws, which have been challenged in court and applied unevenly.

I am particularly struck by this unintentially evil concept:

A spokesman for the National Mining Association, Luke Popovich, said that unless mine owners were allowed to dump mine waste in streams and valleys it would be impossible to operate in mountainous regions like West Virginia that hold some of the richest low-sulfur coal seams.

Isn't that kind of, like, the point?

That logic is actually just perfect. Unless you are allowed to do whatever it is that you want, you can't do it. Regulation, you see, just gets in the way of doing what it is they want to do.

It really is a tragedy for the Appalachians and for anyone who cares at all about the natural environment. Leave aside the issue of air pollution and mercury poisoning and all of the other things associated with coal. Think for a moment that this immediate short term use of coal to power our fattened lifestyle will forever eliminate these mountains and destroy the region. Air quality can rebound but mountains do not come back.