President Bush devoted minimal attention to the environment in the State of the Union address. His only reference was to energy policy: “Consumers and businesses need reliable supplies of energy to make our economy run, so I urge you to pass legislation to modernize our electricity system, promote conservation and make America less dependent on foreign sources of energy.”

I agree with Bush that these should be goals of a new energy policy. However, his energy bill does none of these things. The Bush administration energy bill, which the General Accounting Office has confirmed was influenced by large corporate energy, oil and utility companies, fails to do any of those things. This legislation destroys environmental protections, doesn’t require renewable energy sources, and does nothing to stop the advance of global warming.

The bill will cost taxpayers more than $50 billion over the next decade. Bush, Vice President Cheney and company are apparently more committed to the profits of their corporate cronies than to the health of American citizens. Maine is a state whose citizens already have a high incidence of asthma and other respiratory problems.

According to an article titled, “Power Plants and Air Pollution,” on the Web site of the American Lung Association of Maine, “Electric utilities produce 66 percent of all sulfur dioxide emissions nationwide. Even brief exposure to relatively low levels of sulfur dioxide has been repeatedly shown to trigger attacks in people with asthma.”

Buck O’Herin

Montville