ENVIRONMENT ISSUES

The Bush Administration gutted clean-air standards for aging power plants, resulting in at least 20,000 premature deaths each year.
Source: cta.policy.net

The Bush Administration eliminated protections on more than 200 million acres of public lands.
Source: calwild.org

President Bush broke his promise to place limits on carbon dioxide emissions, an essential step in combating global warming.
Source: Washington Post

Days after 9/11, the Bush Administration told people living near Ground Zero that the air was safe--even though they knew it wasn't--subjecting hundreds of people to unnecessary, debilitating ailments.
Source: Sierra Club , EPA

The Bush Administration created a massive tax loophole for SUVs--allowing, for example, the write-off of the entire cost of a new Hummer.
Source: Washington Post

The Bush Administration put former coal-industry big shots in the government and let them roll back safety regulations, putting miners at greater risk of black lung disease.
Source: New York Times

The Bush Administration said that even though the weed killer atrazine was seeping into water supplies--creating, among other bizarre creatures, hermaphroditic frogs--there was no reason to regulate it.
Source: Washington Post

The Bush Administration has proposed cutting the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency by $600 million next year.
Source: ems.org

President Bush broke his campaign promise to end the maintenance backlog at national parks. He has provided just 7 percent of the funds needed, according to National Park Service estimates.

Source: bushgreenwatch.org  

Cottonmouth - (Agkistrodon piscivorus)
The Cottonmouth (also called the Water Moccasin) belongs to the same family as the rattlesnakes. The Cottonmouth and the Copperhead are the only members of the family in the United States that don't have rattles. If you live where these snakes are found and you like to catch snakes, learn to identify these species. Unlike other water snakes, the Cottonmouth swims with its head well out of water. Although it may be observed basking in the sun during the day, it is more active at night. It preys on amphibians, fishes, snakes, and birds 

Black Bayou Lake NWR Fall Celebration

As a part of National Wildlife Refuge Week - October 9-16, 2004 Black Bayou Lake NWR held its annual Fall Celebration.
Friends of Black Bayou held its first annual Friends of Black Bayou NWR Photography Contest, with great success. There were a total of 161 images submitted in 10 categories. The photographic competition was an opportunity to promote & encourage an appreciation of wildlife and the scenic natural settings that abound within the North Louisiana Refuges Complex, consisting of Black Bayou Lake, D'Arbonne, Upper Ouachita & Handy Brake National Wildlife Refuges.
You will find below my entry that was given an Honorable Mention in the contest.
Friends of Black Bayou Inc., which sponsored the event, is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that supports the protection and enhancement of Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
Included in the week’s events was the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the new Wetlands Learning Center, a state of the art educational center located on the Refuge.

Evening Light