I spent part of my evening talking about how important the EPA is to all people. It seems that people think the EPA is too restrictive and should be banned all together. I tried to refresh the minds of old and teach some of the minds of young how for many, many years we (my family) could not eat fish from the Savannah River. Mind you that I didn’t live at the mouth which is far worse.
I’m not going to tell you how mercury gets into the fish and what all can happen like what type of detrimental effects there are on the human body. You can look that up yourself if you don’t know. Much of the toxins that cause mercury poisoning came from the Savannah River Site. We would fish some miles downstream until it was determined the fish were not safe to eat. Of course bottom feeders tend to have a higher concentration and my oh my—I love catfish.
Now, this is just one level of monitoring done by the EPA and such agencies. If it weren’t for the EPA, we would have deadly smog (amongst other things). We still do but it would be much worse because what company is going to police itself if no one calls them out? None.
There are coal ash ponds around and there are companies still using coal. There is a river in Alabama that has this problem right now. The pugs—sorry, I can’t help it—don’t want regulations. They just want to make money whether it is coal energy or other fossil fuels … in pipelines that can spill and believe me—they will eventually leak and spill. So much I can say…I’m frustrated that we are doing things that will harm ourselves.
These government regulations are seen as bad for business. Guess what else they think is bad? Minimum wage. Time off. Having to answer to anyone. Hmmm. See the pattern. For the party who claims they want responsibility, they don’t.
I would like to thank the River Keepers for helping to keep us safe. It is their diligence that has led to a better and cleaner environment for all. There are many people to thank but we all need to get involved. If we don’t look after her – Mother Earth – who will?
Happy Gardening! 🙂
Garden2day 