Congress abandons citizen interests for 'pollution prosperity'
Forty years ago today, against a backdrop of flaming rivers, dying lakes and sewage-choked beaches, our politicians reached across the aisle to pass the Clean Water Act—a law aptly described by the New York Times' Robert Semple as "a critical turning point" in rescuing the nation's waterways from "centuries of industrial, municipal and agricultural pollution." The primary goals of the law were simple and bold: to stop using our nation’s waters as open sewers and end the discharge of water pollution.
This wonderful, landmark law flourished under three decades of bipartisan support, reining in torrents of industrial and municipal discharges, and restoring health to waters great and small across the land.
But some 10 years ago, the clean water tide slowed as polluters gained traction in Congress; and two years ago, with political collaboration at an end, the tide turned. As a result, loopholes and lax enforcement led to the fouling of beaches and rivers with toxic slime, the filling thousands of miles of Appalachian streams with the rubble of mountaintop removal mining; and have allowed dozens of toxic coal ash ponds to exist unregulated among our communities.
The current Congress seems especially eager to prove that pollution means prosperity. Many representatives are joined in an effort to weaken and even wreck the Clean Water Act, particularly by attacking the Environmental Protection Agency's power to enforce it.
To counter this trend, Earthjustice and its allies have been in court and in the halls of Congress, and are working to rally public support across the nation. Our goals are to stop the erosion of the Act, defend the power of the EPA and improve enforcement.
Our top priorities: reverse the Bush administration's policy that excludes many waterways from Act protections; ensure that the EPA proposes and finalizes rulemakings that reduce sewage overflows and pollution from stormwater runoff; pressure the EPA to follow through on its commitments to reduce Florida's toxic algae blooms caused by nutrient pollution, and expand regional and national nutrient numeric limits; and continue working to end the devastation wrought by mountaintop mining.
If we’ve learned anything by this summer’s record-breaking drought, it’s that water is a precious and finite resource that deserves to be treated as such. We cannot continue to sacrifice our country’s clean water for industry’s narrow short-term profit. No matter our political views, we all need clean water to survive.
Bob Semple was dead-on when he wrote that bipartisanship created the Clean Water Act and powered it for much of its remarkable existence; and we mourn with him the loss of that shoulder-to-shoulder ethic. Yet, we remain very optimistic and utterly resolved to defend and restore the potency and promise of the Act—and we have reason to be this way. Over the years, in poll after poll and regardless of which political party was in power, the American public has resoundingly declared its support for the Clean Water Act and what it means in their lives. This is our vote of confidence.
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I am truly sorry for you Veronica Lack, hard working people who are also honest are having a real hard time of it and the money sniffing and bully boys (republicans) are waging a war on our system in many ways on the environment, small farmers, women, wild horses domestic horses grey wolves, the list goes on and on, I just know after all the pain, as I have been bullied too in the past on a much lighter way comparing to your pain and loss of environment and life of family and loved ones, it seems our country is turning into some kind of facisit if that quite the correct word, I guess I feel helpless and can only "say pray" we must find good solid answers and action, in a peaceful way, sounds impossible, certainly, these policticians predominantly male or worshipping the dollar as their God in this case, I'm not religious fanatic, but some sort of solution even one on a spritual level may be of some help, certainly someone like romney is not that type of person, he seems also to worship the dollar bill, as his father was a businessman, he is now one that destroys companies that may be floundering and sells them off piece by piece, not caring about the people he has hurt, also I just read on MSN that mr mitt got a 15.3 million dollar bailout when everyone elso got their bailouts, what a hypocrite, but as they say "What goes around comes around" same with these Republican Bullies who call themselves farmers, and the list goes on and on, ad nauseum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why is that everytime anyone makes a point , passes a bill, tries to alert the public of a dire
concern for the environment, the environment especially, or any other legitimate concern about
events in our country, for example, the other day shopping at the hardware store, I mentioned to the cashier that Dick Nixon our past president, had gotten the ball rolling on shipping jobs to China, just a comment after she had said "it only takes one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" that the man behind me in line blurts out "Nixon was a democrat." I couldn't believe he made such a
false and ridiculous comment to everyone in line as though it was fact My reply was please google it dh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Most importantly changes need to be made to improve our environment and our government, so our country can prosper and thrive, for us all, but to continue to hear mostly republican s doing this "blame the other guy" technique to confuse and hamper our countries progress, just mystifies me, can't the republican party put forth positive healthy legislation??????????????????????????????????????? Or does it always have to fall on the Democrats.
Can we bring charges against Bush? What a criminal. Excluding certain waterways from the clean water act? Send him water to drink from some of these waterways. Send all the republicans water to drink from these waterways. Bring in water from these waterways and show all our elected officials what they have voted against. Wake them up!
Linda
Bush and Cheney are not able to leave the country as they are wanted for war crimes, not alot is published about this but it has been in the news. Truly a sad day isn't it?
Linda, are you really that stupid?
We cannot think of ourselves as truly civilized unless we have effective legal control of the purity of our water supply.
Let's be a little more precise and honest. The Clean Water Act was enacted by President Nixon and for the past four years has been assaulted by the Obama Administration.
I think you will find that it is most the republicans in Congress who have led the fight against clean water and air. If you look at the voting records of both sides, you will generally find a shameful lack of environmental concern from republicans. As far as blaming it on the Obama administration, if you take the time to look it up, the repubs have instituted over 330 filibusters against any measures the President or Democrats have tried to institute. When Obama got in, the republicans openly said they would obfusticate everything he tried to do, simply to make him look bad.
I would aver that nothing will prove more precisely the old Maxim: "What goes around, comes around", than the fact that what, we have, allowed to be Sprayed on our Crops, Spilled onto our Land -including the run-off from crops, Spewed into our Air, Buried in our Soil, DUMPED INTO OUR WATERS, left in our sub-surface as a result of Mining and Drilling operations, will soon be seen, smelt and tasted, in that order, as it comes back at us out of our spigots.
Count on it!
The potential for the survival of our environment is directly proportional to the, insatiable, sociopathic GREED of the "Special Interests" and their carte blanche to continue to Pollute, Deceive the Public and, then, Pollute some more! If not brought under control, GREED will soon take this great Country Down!
We are our Environment’s Keeper!
If not us, WHO? Certainly not those who are Profiting from its Destruction!
FRACKING: How many gallons of water does it take to recover One(1) Cubic Foot of natural gas? Water that must be contaminated by chemicals to make it useable in the recovery process as to render it permanently unuseable. Water that will remain so contaminated that it will be unfit to flush a toilet. I suspect that we will run out of drinkable water while trying to solve our energy problems! Who will be the winner here? I would hazard that there will be None!
Tom Nass
5th Marine Division - WWII
Thomas O. Nass’ Paraphrase and Enhancement of W.C. Lowdermilk , U.S. Dept of Agriculture 1948, from "Conquest of the Land Through 7,000 Years"
This Holy EarthThou shall inherit this Holy Earth as a Faithful Steward, respecting, protecting and conserving its Environment, its Resources and its Productivity for future generations.Thou shall safeguard its Fields from erosion; its Soils and sub-Surface from Chemical Saturation; its Ocean Waters, its Ground Waters and its Air from chemical Pollution and over-heating. Its Oceans from over fishing; its Forests from desolation; its Mineral Resources from depletion; its Hills from overgrazing by thy herds and its Creatures from extinction. All this so that thy descendants may enjoy its abundance as once did thee.
As all Nations do share in the Ownership of this Holy Earth. Ergo, if any Nation or its leaders should fail in the responsibilities of their Stewardship, then all of thy Crop land shall become sterile ground with wasting gullies; thy waters unfit to drink; thy air too thick to breath; the meat of thy herds and thy flocks, as the spawn of thy waters and thy oceans, unfit to eat. If any of the above should come to pass, then thy descendants shall gradually diminish in their number and eventually depart in their entirety from off the face of this Holy Earth.
Why? Because insatiable, sociopathic, corporate, GREED and ignorance of their ignorance of all things except their "Bottom Line" shall have decreed it so.Corporate "PROFITS" and a "Clean Environment" are not, and never will be, compatible. Corporate Credo -to which their sycophants subscribe: "Rather no Planet at all than a Planet where our insatiable, sociopathic GREED cannot be satisfied. Restrictions, Safety Regulations and the Environment be Damned!"
Tom Nass
5th Marine Division - WWII
I would aver that nothing will prove more precisely the old Maxim: "What goes around, comes around", than the fact that what, we have, allowed to be Sprayed on our Crops, Spilled onto our Land -including the run-off from crops, Spewed into our Air, Buried in our Soil, DUMPED INTO OUR WATERS, left in our sub-surface as a result of Mining and Drilling operations, will soon be seen, smelt and tasted, in that order, as it comes back at us out of our spigots.
Count on it!
The potential for the survival of our environment is directly proportional to the, insatiable, sociopathic GREED of the "Special Interests" and their carte blanche to continue to Pollute, Deceive the Public and, then, Pollute some more! If not brought under control, GREED will soon take this great Country Down!
We are our Environment’s Keeper!
If not us, WHO? Certainly not those who are Profiting from its Destruction!FRACKING: How many gallons of water does it take to recover One(1) Cubic Foot of natural gas? Water that must be contaminated by chemicals to make it useable in the recovery process as to render it permanently unuseable. Water that will remain so contaminated that it will be unfit to flush a toilet. I suspect that we will run out of drinkable water while trying to solve our energy problems! Who will be the winner here? I would hazard that there will be None!
Tom Nass
5th Marine Division - WWII
"Clean coal" is as much of an oxymoron as "isolated wetland", the term used to weaken jurisdictional protection of these critical resources. Unfortunately, our political process has become a very short-sited addressing of issues. Long-term solutions which would require addressing environmental and ecologic disasters, so not even come into play. It vexed me to no end that during the debates, neither candidate even mentioned climate change or the need to reduce carbon emissions. In the second debate, when Romney repeatedly advocated for coal, the need to begin curtailing carbon emissions of coal (and other fossil fuels) would have been an encouraging comeback from the President.
Thank you for the link above--I've signed and hope that others will, too. It is another example of the damage done by coal, "clean" or otherwise, quality-of-life costs that are not factored into the current political discussion. A timely reminder, as presidential candidates position themselves as friends of coal.
This issue is extremely important. Our health and that of animals, such as fish, turtles and other animals are in danger. How about plants? recrreation? Rich people go to far away places to enjoy life, Middle class is too busy working to pay taxes so rich people can increase their pockets and benefits for their business. I have seen how in other countries have been trying to clean their rivers annd lakes, It hasd been very hard to do and in some instances IMPOSSIBLE!! What are our future generations going to inherit? The presidential candidates should deal with this issue and erxplain what are they going to do about it.
Why? We need to know what are the important issues and the concernrs of common citizens about them.
Strictly ENFORCE the QUARTER CENTURY Belated Clean Water Act (CWA) 1985 DEADLINE, Instead! :
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (CWA of 1972) is amended to read as follows:
TITLE I--RESEARCH AND RELATED PROGRAMS
SEC. 101 [33 U.S.C. 1251] Declaration of Goals and Policy
(a) The objective of this Act is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological
integrity of the Nation's waters. In order to achieve this objective it is hereby declared that,
consistent with the provisions of this Act--
(1) it is the national goal that the discharge of pollutants into the navigable waters be ELIMINATED by 1985.
In the first Presidential debate Romney ridiculed Obama's support of green energy initiatives by referring to those as "losers". He pointed out a few companies that had gone bankrupt as if they represented the whole. In the second debate he criticized Obama for taking away the public land oil drilling leases that were not being used by the companies that held them, and he bragged how he would make more jobs by allowing a pipeline to run from Canada down through the United States. During that same debate Obama had the guts to say he we have enough pipelines already. A vote for Romney is a vote for the rape of Mother Nature. One can be sure that he will support fracking (which poisons underground water resources) because. for some people, fracking will make jobs and big bucks and those are the litmus Romney uses in making decisions about the environment.
Will Romney be happy & think he is successful when we have no more clean water to drink?
We need a new president to take control of these issues. We can no longer jut sit around and wait for someone to take a stand. It's overdue to rise up and fight for clean water not only for humans but for the animals that depend on it.
We may need a new president, but Romney, isn't the one. Do your homework. We are better off voting for Obama and working with him, for he is for supporting green energies and not for jumping onto every energy initiative that is put in front of him just because it will make big bucks for the super wealthy. He is for creating new jobs by supporting green energy initiatives. He is for helping to retrain people who loose jobs from polluting industries that go out of date because we finally have come to realize the harm some of our old industries are doing to our environment.
Obama will only do what's good for HIS party. What jobs has he created, Solendra? 150 million $ where did it go many other losers as well. 4 americans died and him and Hitlery LIED. He was too busy partying with beyance and JZ $800 bottles of champane, the view, Letterman (who now calls him a lier as well)to be bothered with Lybia Super wealthy? can you say Oparah, Bill Gates, all left wacko's.
A group of Republican farmers that had no drainage outlet for their Wetland trespassed on my farm since I was widowed and they stated I did not need my land anymore. They had polluted our aquifer downstream from them with Anhydrous Ammonia and Atrazine and high lead in our drinking water. My animals had died or IBP docked me for miscellaneous masses and tumors, so I had to stop raising animals. I was refused farm program help and loans because that group controlled the Mitchell County Osage, Iowa USDA-NRCS and FSA offices. Corporations in all sizes are allowed to pollute and have no concern for sustainability of our soils or water quality in Iowa and most corporate people like Romney don't understand what it is to work and have the government agencies used against you when the polluters were given a well drilled to a deeper yet safe aquifer in 1993. While we had our well tests withheld from us until after my husband was dead from their polluting. Worse yet the polluting is on-going and now has broken through in 2008 to the deeper aquifer I had been told by the IDNR to drill to at my own expense in 2004. So now my new well and more of my neighbors downstream, new or old wells in the deeper aquifer are polluted. Vote for Barack as he has been struggling against the corporate take over in DC and has been working toward some enforcement of the Clean Water Act except for Anhydrous Ammonia fertilizer that is starting to show up in well tests across Iowa and the Midwest Corn states. It is being over applied and applied on Karsted limestone areas with little or no soil depth thus draining right down into those aquifer Recharge areas, plus forced drainage ways were built to direct heavy rain events through lines of sinkholes to drain these former wetlands down sinkholes in Mitchell County Cedar (W) Township. Point Scouce Polluting by "Connecting the Dots" or sinkholes. The Greed of these Right Wing Republicans that take what they want without using legal Eminanit Domain or necessary permits to outlet their runoff into our Water is sickening and then they gave me the pictures of them having killed my Ivy League son, Adam, who was trying to help me fight their on-going pollution. www.lack-family.net/adam
A group of Republican farmers that had no drainage outlet for their Wetland trespassed on my farm since I was widowed and they stated I did not need my land anymore. They had polluted our aquifer downstream from them with Anhydrous Ammonia and Atrazine and high lead in our drinking water. My animals had died or IBP docked me for miscellaneous masses and tumors, so I had to stop raising animals. I was refused farm program help and loans because that group controlled the Mitchell County Osage, Iowa USDA-NRCS and FSA offices. Corporations in all sizes are allowed to pollute and have no concern for sustainability of our soils or water quality in Iowa and most corporate people like Romney don't understand what it is to work and have the government agencies used against you when the polluters were given a well drilled to a deeper yet safe aquifer in 1993. While we had our well tests withheld from us until after my husband was dead from their polluting. Worse yet the polluting is on-going and now has broken through in 2008 to the deeper aquifer I had been told by the IDNR to drill to at my own expense in 2004. So now my new well and more of my neighbors downstream, new or old wells in the deeper aquifer are polluted. Vote for Barack as he has been struggling against the corporate take over in DC and has been working toward some enforcement of the Clean Water Act except for Anhydrous Ammonia fertilizer that is starting to show up in well tests across Iowa and the Midwest Corn states. It is being over applied and applied on Karsted limestone areas with little or no soil depth thus draining right down into those aquifer Recharge areas, plus forced drainage ways were built to direct heavy rain events through lines of sinkholes to drain these former wetlands down sinkholes in Mitchell County Cedar (W) Township. Point Scouce Polluting by "Connecting the Dots" or sinkholes. The Greed of these Right Wing Republicans that take what they want without using legal Eminanit Domain or necessary permits to outlet their runoff into our Water is sickening and then they gave me the pictures of them having killed my Ivy League son, Adam, who was trying to help me fight their on-going pollution. www.lack-family.net/adam
Just curious, are there any democratic farmers? Veronica, keep in mind your prez Obama will do what,s in his best interest
We need a new president to take control of these issues. We can no longer jut sit around and wait for someone to take a stand. It's overdue to rise up and fight for clean water not only for humans but for the animals that depend on it.
When it all comes down to it....GREED is to blame for our poor to bad water quality. Sad.......
The Very Real possibility that something so vital to our water supply is even remotely threatened-let alone vastly so, and by the GOP and their money mongering fellows is one of many that scare me to avoid a Mit Romney vote. What would this due to our children's children's children?
Obama has put our childrens children in debt already TRILLIONS! But all you can say is Romney will add to it, try being fair we are all in trouble no matter who becomes president.
Clean water, clean air, clean environment are the keystone to a healthier, safer for all citizens on planet Earth.
The car ferry, S.S. Badger dumps 4 tons of toxic coal ash into Lake Michigan every day they operate, please take a moment and go to stopdumpingcoalash.com to sign the petition to get them to stop!
Every US House of Representatives Republican has voted AGAINST the Clean Water Act at least 15 times. Every Democratic Representative has voted FOR the Clean Water Act at least 15 times.
Every US House of Representatives Republican has voted AGAINST the Clean Water Act at least 15 times. Every Democratic Representative has voted FOR the Clean Water Act at least 15 times.
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