On February 1, nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh called Friends of the Earth international climate campaigner Catherine Pearce a “B-I-itch” after watching her in a CNN appearance criticizing proposals President Bush made during his January 31 State of the Union address.

Appearing in a segment on the alternative energy proposals included in Bush's address on the February 1 edition of CNN's Your World Today, Pearce stated:

PEARCE: This kind of language that the president has been talking about really represents nothing new. He's been talking about the potential for technologies, talking about investment into research and development into these technologies for some considerable time now.

Responding to Pearce's criticisms, Limbaugh said: "[T]hey've got some B-I-itch from the -- let me just say it. I mean, just looking at her, she's a B-I-itch. She's from the Friends of the Earth." Referring to Bush's proposal to “fund additional research in cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol, not just from corn, but from wood chips and stalks or switchgrass,” Limbaugh added: “My gosh, he's just offered you switchgrass. You people ought to be having multiple orgasms.”

From the February 1 broadcast of The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: Last State of the Union, Bush talked about the hydrogen car. We're all scratching our heads. I think I figured it out, though. He's just putting this stuff in there to, you know, to ameliorate the -- everybody in the audience. Gotta give everybody something in a State of the Union address, even the environmentalist wackos. So last night, he starts talking about a new fuel to power our cars called switchgrass. It's a combination of grass and wood chips. Not long after that, by the way, if this ever comes to pass, grass will go on the endangered species list and will -- well, that's a good -- do we have more grass or do we have more oil? What are the odds we're going to run out of grass before we run out of oil?

Anyway, so I'm watching CNN International here during the break at the top of hour, and they've got some B-I-itch from the -- let me just say it. I mean, just looking at her, she's a B-I-itch. She's from the Friends of the Earth. “This is typical of George Bush. It has nothing -- has nothing new. We have nothing.” My gosh, he's just offered you switchgrass. You people ought to be having multiple orgasms. It was a hydrogen car last year; switchgrass cars this year. “Bush did nothing new. Said nothing new. Didn't offer anything new.”