Water Saftey is More Regulation We Dont Need.

Many people think conservatism has failed. This is not true. They have succeeded brilliantly. They have accomplished more than they ever thought possible. It happens to illustrate the point that one should be careful of what they wish for. They have truly drown government in the bath water. I bring you another example of such behavior, clean water.

Via the WaPo

The Environmental Protection Agency, under pressure from the White House and the Pentagon, is poised to rule as early as today that it will not set a drinking-water safety standard for perchlorate, a component of rocket fuel that has been linked to thyroid problems in pregnant women, newborns and young children across the nation.

According to a near-final document obtained by The Washington Post, the EPA's "preliminary regulatory determination" -- which was extensively edited by White House officials -- marks the final step in a six-year-old battle between career EPA scientists who advocate regulating the chemical and White House and Pentagon officials who oppose it. The document estimates that up to 16.6 million Americans are exposed to perchlorate at a level many scientists consider unsafe; independent researchers, using federal and state data, put the number at 20 million to 40 million.

I wish i could say i was shocked. One of the things that needs to be highlighted for people who want to vote republican is that the presidency is about more than simply foriegn policy or vetoing bills or even the supreme court. The president appoints the head of all of these agencies and regulators. These are the people who are supposed to make sure that the American people dont end up being poisoned by our drinking water or our toys. Republicans feel that this type of regulation is not required. So when you read something about them editing the science to make sure they dont have to regulate it makes sense.

"They have distorted the science to such an extent that they can justify not regulating" the chemical, said Robert Zoeller, a University of Massachusetts professor who specializes in thyroid hormone and brain development and has a copy of the EPA proposal. "Infants and children will continue to be damaged, and that damage is significant."

Zoeller said scientific studies have shown that a small reduction in thyroid function in infants can translate into a loss of IQ and an increase in behavioral and perception problems. "It's absolutely irreversible," he said. "Even small changes in thyroid functions early on have impacts on functioning through high school and even into people's 20s."

A reference to those studies in the EPA's proposal was deleted by OMB officials.

This distortion of the research is par for the course. Bush has an amazing list of anti-environmental actions he has taken as president. Read that list, it is truly amazing how bad he has been. Bush has systematically gutted the epa's ability to regulate environmental abuses. Part of his strategy to do this is to muddy the waters on the science that backs regulation or taking action in some way so that people are confused about what to do. When that fails he has even gone so far as to make sure the states cant regulate to standards higher than his. Here he talks about vetoing california's more stringent car pollution standards.

The question is how to have an effective strategy. Is it more effective to let each state make a decision as to how to proceed in curbing greenhouse gases? Or is it more effective to have a national strategy? Director Johnson made a decision based upon the fact that we passed a piece of legislation that enables us to have a national strategy

Here is the why bush wants to make sure we have a national strategy on these types of things.

Federal, state and independent scientists have differed over the years as to what represents an acceptable dose of perchlorate in drinking water, though all have set the bar higher than the non-mandatory level in the EPA's new proposal. In January 2002, the EPA issued a draft risk assessment finding that 1 part per billion should be considered safe; in March 2006, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection set a maximum contaminant level of 2 ppb; last year, California adopted a standard of 6 ppb.

See how in efficient that is? Those states are setting their standard too high. That is not in keeping with the idea of an efficient national strategy to avoid regulating these chemicals and to make sure the defense department does not have to pay for any clean up. That's what makes a national strategy so efficient, the federal government can assert its power to crush people trying to fix this problem.

Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.),

"Perchlorate has been a serious, persistent and widespread problem which threatens the health of our families, especially our children," Boxer said. "For the Bush EPA to walk away from this problem and shrug off this danger is, in my view, unforgivable and immoral."

You can take that quote and put a blank where EPA is and use it over and over again. "Why?", you might ask. Why would they want to put millions of babies and pregnant women and children at risk. What could be worth the damage to so many american lives?

Some perchlorate occurs naturally, but most perchlorate contamination in U.S. drinking water stems from improper disposal by rocket test sites, military bases and chemical plants. A nationwide cleanup could cost hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars, and several defense contractors have threatened to sue the Defense Department to help pay for it if one is required.

Yes, they dont want to have to pay for the clean up. They would rather put peoples lives at risk rather than shell out a couple billion dollars. Its not like a couple billion is very much, after all we are trying to give 700 billion to help out bankers. Preventing safe drinking water so that we dont have to pay for the clean up is just one more part of this war on the people bush has waged.

The government is not of the people, for the people or by the people. The government is against the people. The bush government will actively work against the people of this country when given any opportunity. Whether it is on clean water or building codes put in place after 9/11, or POW's recovering money from law suits against Iraq the government is spending your tax dollars against you.

This type of stuff happens in every bush agency. He has destroyed the government. Now we have a banking crisis where competent government is needed and we cant get it. We cant trust our government to work for us under republicans. We cant even trust the water we drink.