Poisoning Ourselves

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, it was noticed that
there were cuts in the budget to the Environmental Protection Agency.
 The rationale was that we needed to shift more funds to the
global and perpetual war on terror.  



At the time, I said that "the terrorists" won't have to bother trying
to poison us.  Our own companies would do it for them.



Yup.



href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/green/chi-epa-official-resigns_webmay02,0,4655733.story">TRIBUNE
EXCLUSIVE: EPA's top Midwest regulator forced out


Mary Gade, based in Chicago, says Bush administration made
her
quit over Dow Chemical case




By Michael Hawthorne | Tribune reporter

7:31 PM CDT, May 1, 2008



The Bush administration forced its top environmental regulator in the
Midwest to quit Thursday after months of internal bickering about
dioxin contamination downstream from Dow Chemical's world headquarters
in Michigan.



In an interview with the Tribune, Mary Gade said two top officials at
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington
stripped her of her powers as regional administrator and told her to
quit or be fired by June 1.



Gade said she had told the agency she would resign her position, based
in Chicago.


The gist of the story is that Gade was getting tough with Dow, because
of extensive dioxin contamination.  By extensive, I mean that
it had spread 50 miles from the chemical plant: into a river, and one
of the Great Lakes.  



Reportedly, Gade had been highly regarded; she even had earned the
grudging respect of industry leaders.  She negotiated some
tough deals.  


At the center of the latest dispute was Gade, who as
a corporate attorney had represented big companies like Dow against
environmental regulators. Her aggressive action against Dow surprised
the company, local activists and her Washington bosses. But she still
won high marks from EPA officials during her last performance
evaluation.



So she was forced out anyway.  Mission accomplished, I guess.
 The surge is working.  A heck of a job. Whatever.


More like this

Stupidity can also be a form of terrorism. And it's no less malicious.

The Republican party these days represents only the interests of Big Business, and nobody else. In the immortal words of Lou Reed, "They'll shit in a river/pour battery acid in a stream". I don't understand why a plurality of voters in this country continues to miss this obvious truth.

How far the USA has fallen from a Scientist President such as Jefferson, and Engineer Presidents such as Hoover and Carter. The Bush Administration beats the Reagan Administration as the most Anti-science in history. As to the sad comment: "I don't understand why a plurality of voters in this country continues to miss this obvious truth" the answer is that the Republican Party, after successive revolutions by Goldwater (who was pro-Science), Reagan, Gingrich, and Bush, is not only anti-Science and pro-pollution, but has exquisitely polished tactics for convincing "Reagan Democrats" to vote against their own self interest.

Right, but these exquisitely polished tactics are only the tactics of Big Business -- that is, advertising. I'm not a Christian, but I nevertheless consider these words, attributed to JC, to be accurate: "The love of money". ie, greed "is the root of all evil."