Hightower Lowdown

Meanwhile, pity poor George W. It's not his fault. He was born with crude oil in his veins, so he simply can't move beyond the plunder-and-pollute agenda of the Big Oil barons.With gasoline prices topping$2.50 a gallon and climbing, Bush's political handlers decided that their boy needed to look like he has an energy plan to free America from its costly dependency on foreign oil. So now we have the Bush Plan: Make America dependent on domestic oil.

Damn the costs, says our oil man-in-chief. Build oil rigs in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, in our coastal waters, and in our national parks. Turn over some of America's closed military bases to the oil companies and give them tax subsidies to construct more refineries, while also making it faster and easier for them to get building permits with which to bypass any opposition by local folks and clean air advocates.

Bush's plan is a wet dream come true for oil executives, but it's the same oily mess for America. It leaves our country hooked on high-priced, polluting petroleum and at the mercy of monopolistic oil giants with names like ExxonMobil ChevronTexacoConocoBP.

And when George did include a non-oil proposal in his plan, it was to rev up another dinosaur: the longdormant nuclear power industry. Again, his solution is to provide taxpayer subsidies to these corporate giants, while also crimping the democratic ability of local folks, environmentalists, and safety experts to stop the construction of such explosive behemoths. His nuke plan makes no mention of little side problems, like where to put the radioactive wastes these plants generate.

Bush is looking backward, when America desperately needs leadership to move us forward to the bright future of conservation and renewable fuels.