The mining companies used to have to follow strict guidelines and regulations about where they could dump their waste materials - and pristine streams and valleys certainly were not on the list. Yet Bush seemed to believe that was too restrictive, and decided to drop the regulations, allowing waste to be dumped anywhere.
But, you may ask, where was the E.P.A. - the agency that is supposed to watch over the environment and protect it through the government? Oh, they were there all right - right on Bush's side, that is. It just sickens and scares me that the E.P.A. has so fully and completely abandoned its role. Their own scientists have published reports proving definitively that it is hazardous to the environment to dump waste material in the streams and valleys! But instead, they signed off on the deregulation, no questions asked.
The E.P.A. is also at work trying to help out the big energy companies with two other deregulations. One would allow coal-fired power plants near national parks. Another would ease restrictions on coal-fired power plants and let them increase emissions. WTF!?!?!!!? Seriously, since when is the role of the E.P.A. screw the environment in favor of Big Energy? Yeah, Bush is all over that, we all know. But I used to believe that the E.P.A. would at least TRY to tone down the Bush damages. It seems that that's not really an accurate job description, after all.
The Supreme Court, packed by Bush with right-wing judges, is hearing a case brought by Big Energy, in which it is deciding if there can be a cost-benefit analysis put on the environment. It's like this: the Big Energy companies (coal, nuclear, and natural gas) all use water to cool down their plants so they don't overheat. Part of the Clean Water Act stipulated that the energy plants had to use the best and most effective technology available to reduce the damage done by putting hot water back into the streams and lakes that it came from, since the hot water kills everything in the water (fish, larvae, microorganisms) - scientifically proven, for what that's worth! Well, Big Energy doesn't like that, as you might imagine. So Bush and his lapdogs at the E.P.A. created a provision that would let the power plants get an exemption from having to install the technology if the cost of the technology and the installation would be greater than the environmental benefits. Hmmm... let's see. Either spend some of your huge profits to update the plant.... or kill everything in the water.... HOW CAN YOU PUT A PRICE ON THAT?????? Environmentalists agreed, and sued to have the rule repealed. The Big Energy lost in the lower courts, and appealed to the Supreme Court. Not surprisingly, the court is taking the case. Unfortunately, I think I know how they will decide. So long, fishies!
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Just wanted to post a small addendum. The New York Times carried a tiny story about an environmental group called Appalachian Voices that is suing the E.P.A. over the recent rule allowing mining companies to dump their waste into streams and valleys. They are calling it the "death of freshwater streams" and the probable "start of a new surge in mountaintop removal surface mining" across Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia,and West Virginia. The ruling is national, but the majority of surface mines are in Appalachia. The link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/us/04mining.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=environmentalists%20fight%20E.P.A.%20rule&st=cse
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