Now, environmentalists claim, the president is returning the favor at the expense of clean air, clean water and the protection of public land. One blatant example is a proposal, backed by President Bush, to drill for oil in the pristine coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The oil and gas industry made its largest contribution to a presidential campaign, and more than 75 percent of the money went to the Republican Party, according to conservation groups. Environmental groups point to other variations on the same theme, including Bush's cabinet appointments, a proposal to reverse Clinton's roadless areas rule and recent budget cuts. While this has occurred with every president in recent years, the problem is escalating.
Internet users can track campaign donations quickly and accurately.
Since the early 1980s, CRP has offered the public a record of the money spent by politicians in U.S. elections. The Dirty Money Tracker Web site, launched by the Environmental Working Group, also allows people to examine how money from anti-environmental corporations and coalitions affects environmental decisions on Capitol Hill. The site also offers a guide to products sold by those corporations and notes more ethical alternatives that are on the market. Creators of the site hope that by targeting the companies that bankrolled Bush to victory in November, individuals can force the president to take a different approach to climate talks scheduled for Bonn in July. Some of the corporations on the list have a direct interest in the failure of the Kyoto agreement.