The League of Conservation Voters has been in existence for more than 30 years and routinely assigns presidents a grade from A through F, just like school. Other elected officials get numerical grades (0 through 100) based, not on opinions or likability or speeches, but strictly on voting records. A few bills of exceptional importance are double-weighted.
George W. Bush is the first and only president to have earned an "F" for his environmental policies.
Here's a summary of LCV's assessment:
In three
short years, George W. Bush has compiled the worst environmental record
in the history of our nation û abandoning the public interest on behalf
of polluters and special interests. The
Bush Administration, from its earliest days in office, has staged a
blatant, sustained and unremitting attack on environmental protections
on behalf of their corporate patrons and donors. The evidence is in the
money trail that leads directly from Bush Pioneers (donors raising at
least $100,000) and Rangers (donors raising at least $200,000) to the
public policy actions of the administration.
The
utility, oil and gas, mining, and nuclear industries and their
lobbyists have raised and contributed millions upon millions of dollars
to George BushÆs political career û and they have gotten one of the
most handsome payoffs in history. The individuals and their industries
listed below have received billions of dollars in subsidies, cost and
tax abatements and liability wavers. The health and safety of the
public has been put at risk and the great natural legacy of the United
States scarred and abused. It is a travesty of democracy and the public
interest û all for the sake of campaign contributions and personal
profit. Read more about specific issues
