Redford Decries Bush's Environmental Policies in Vegas Visit
CHRISTINA ALMEIDA, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, September 22, 2004

The Bush administration is "intentionally blind" to the needs of the environment and has rolled back years of advances in improving air and water quality, actor and activist Robert Redford said Wednesday.
"Sadly, the erosion that's occurred is disastrous, frightening and dangerous," Redford said.
Speaking at an event sponsored by the Environmental Accountability Fund, Redford said he is insulted when President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney tout their status as Westerners.
"I take particular offense as a Westerner when I see all the swagger and all the strutting. .... And I think, `What do they know about the West?"' said Redford, who has homes in California and Utah. "It's synthetic. It's fake."
America needs more bipartisanship efforts, Redford said recalling the 1970s when he worked to help pass the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.
"Remember the old days when we all fought tooth and nail, but we worked together to come to some sort of solution that could be bipartisan?" Redford said.
Bush campaign spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt dismissed Redford's claims, and said Bush has proposed a number of policies beneficial to the environment.
"Robert Redford should stick to film making rather than making inaccurate claims," Schmitt said. "Our air and water are cleaner and clearer under this administration."
The Environmental Accountability Fund is a political action committee tied to the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund. It plans to air advertisements, send out mailings and put up billboards to highlight Bush's environmental policies and their effects on state and local communities.