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American Environmentalist: 'I'm Ashamed For My Country' Marc Morano, CNSNews.comJohannesburg -- A U.S. environmentalist said he gladly led the boos against Colin Powell during Powell's address to the Earth Summit on Wednesday. "I was ashamed for my country because the people representing us were acting like selfish children," Michael Green said. Green, the executive director of the Center for Environmental Health, was forcibly removed from the U.N. plenary room after booing and chanting, "Shame on Bush" during Powell's address. "As an American, I was so embarrassed ... that the U.S. delegation is obstructing very important environmental issues like global warming and the WTO [World Trade Organization]," Green told CNSNews.com. At least five American environmental and anti-corporate protesters were forced out after chanting and unfurling a banner that read, "Bush: People and Planet, not Big Business." "Every delegation feels like the U.S. has blocked important environmental policies that would have helped the earth and helped poor people," he added. Green boasted that having U.S. environmentalists lead the jeers allowed delegates from other nations to feel more comfortable joining in the verbal chastising of Powell. "The place went crazy. Our chanting of 'Shame on Bush' created openings for the other delegates to share their feeling in a way they wouldn't have otherwise," Green said. "This is the U.N. People don't normally boo a Secretary of State; they don't jeer each other," he explained. Powell's speech was drowned out several times. He told the protesters, "I have heard you, now will you hear me?" but the protesters would hear none of it, as many were either forced out or walked out in disgust. Green believes that because the U.S. is "the richest country in the world, we have a responsibility to do the right thing and to help others. "I am embarrassed by the government that is currently representing me," he added. Tom Kilgannon, executive director of the Freedom Alliance, said the protestors can't be satisfied. "The U.S. has come under a lot of criticism at this conference, and we put forward hundreds of millions of dollars to help the poor around the world, especially in Africa, and these people just aren't satisfied. There is no end to their bitterness," Kilgannon said. Copyright CNSNews.com
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