41
B
IG OI
L
contributions to political candidates and
hire lobbying firms, all to influence law-
makers to support the Big Oil agenda.
In the 2000 presidential elec-
tion, for example, Big Oil contributed
handsomely to George W. Bush’s cam-
paign. Bush had been an oil executive
in Texas early in his career and was
friendly to the interests of the indus-
try. His vice presidential running
mate, Dick Cheney, had been in charge
of Halliburton, a corporation that
builds and operates oil refineries, oil
pipelines, and other oil-related infra-
structure. Once in office, Bush placed
other oil-industry insiders in key posi-
tions throughout his administration. For example, he put the
US Department of the Interior—the federal agency charged with
protecting US national parks, wildlife refuges, and other public
lands—under the control of Gale Norton, who had built a career
as a lawyer and lobbyist representing the oil industry.
As expected, the Bush administration backed laws favor-
able to Big Oil. Under Norton’s leadership, the Department of
the Interior reduced spending on the enforcement of environ-
mental protection laws, allowed oil drilling in deep waters of the
Gulf of Mexico, and opened up millions of acres of previously
off-limits public land and water to both oil and gas drilling.
Such actions drew heavy criticism from environmentalists. The
Sierra Club, for example, called Norton “The Fox in Her Hen-
house”—implying that Norton had plundered the very resource
she had been hired to protect. But others praised Norton’s work.
Industrial Energy Consumers of America, a lobbying group for
manufacturers, said her actions as interior secretary had helped
the US economy. Getting more gas and oil to market would keep
Bush put the US
Department of the
Interior—the federal
agency charged with
protecting US national
parks, wildlife refuges,
and other public lands—
under the control of Gale
Norton, who had built a
career as a lawyer and
lobbyist representing
the oil industry.
