by gchaucer2
When I started writing this diary, I intended to examine seven major environmental laws which provide exemptions for the oil and gas industry. There is just too much information regarding each statute to cram into one diary and do any justice to the topic. I'll start with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). This is my favorite environmental law because of the beauty of the Congressional intent, the real sense of hope that we could be better stewards and the powerful tools which were supposed to curb the ongoing corruption of the earth, air and water. For decades the oil and gas industry have enjoyed exemptions from major environmental laws which would otherwise directly affect their operations and profits. All of the exemptions can't be laid at the doorstep of former Vice President Halliburton Cheney, but the one which had a profound impact on NEPA in 2005 most definitely is his manipulation. The tragedy unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico is the result of many things, obvious to all readers here. This diary and ones I hope to write on six other statutes, aren't directly about the ongoing catastrophe; they will provide, however, one perspective of how we got here.
continued at Daily Kos....
