ENVIRONMENTAL MEMORY HOLE

In one of the odder stories of Administration Obfuscation to come down the pike lately, we learn from the folks at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility ("PEER"), "a national alliance of local state and federal resource professionals" (tip o' the hat to Mort at Petropest Launchpad), that:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is moving ahead this summer to shut down libraries, end public access to research materials and box up unique collections on the assumption that Congress will not reverse President Bush’s proposed budget reductions, according to agency documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). At the same time, EPA’s own scientists are stepping up protests against closures on the grounds that it will make their work more difficult by impeding research, enforcement and emergency response capabilities.

(Emphasis added). In today's world, with literally hundreds of news stories hitting us daily, it's nearly impossible to keep up with what the hell's going on. In fact, I'll readily admit I didn't know anything about the underlying facts in this story. But apparently:

In an August 15, 2006 document entitled “EPA FY 2007 Library Plan,” agency management indicates that it will begin immediately implementing President Bush’s proposed budget cuts for the next fiscal year, which begins in October, without waiting for Congress to act. The memo describes what EPA terms “deaccessioning procedures” (defined as “the removal of library materials from the physical collection”) for its network of 26 technical libraries. Under the plan—

• Regional libraries, located in Chicago, Dallas and Kansas City, serving 15 Midwestern and Southern states will be closed by September 30. Other regional library hours and services will be gradually reduced;
• Public access to EPA libraries and collections will end as soon as possible;
• As many as 80,000 original documents which are not electronically available will be boxed up (“put their collections into stasis,” in the words of the EPA memo) and shipped for eventual “digitizing.

(Emphases added). "Deaccessioning procedures." Now if that ain't one of those phrases that gives you goosebumps, I'm not sure what is. EPA scientists from the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) filed a grievence with the EPA, who "dismissed the demand as premature."

I don't claim to know much about this at the details level. But we've reached a point where I see a story invoking "Bush" and "removal of library materials," and my antennae go up. What can I tell you? Check it out for yourself; see what you think.