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As promised this week we look at how Our Government has gutted the "Clean
Anything Acts". It's your environment, Breathe it In!

This is a massive subject. So many rules and regulations have been dropped,
changed, and rolled back: So many pieces of legislation have been proposed
and passed that allow corporations to plunder without consideration to the
effects on Our Environment.   Jim Hightower.........(Conservatives- Hold On!   I
know the mere mention of his name is makin' you kinda twitchy, but hopefully I
have stopped you midway between that Cringe and your hitting the delete key.
Now take a deep breath and read on). Jim doesn't just assail "BushCo" . He
also harpoons the Wobbleycrats every chance he gets.   Now..... Jim
Hightower in his book "Thieves in High Places" has devoted 5 full pages to
simple listings of the various changes in the past 3 years that are devastating
to our environment. Here are just a few that probably didn't show up in your
home town newspaper or on your Fox news channel: Suspended the
right-to-know regulation requiring utilities to inform consumers about arsenic in
their water, Eliminated EPA's ban on doing toxic pesticides studies on
humans, at behest of Bayer and the pesticide industry. Tried to shrink
boundaries of nineteen national monuments to free up public lands and to
allow oil and gas drilling on all public lands, and the list goes on and on.
Because of the size of the subject "environment" we will talk , today, about the
Clean Air Act only. We will devote time to the land and water later.

Pretty nearly everybody has heard about restrictions being lifted for the coal
burning industries to update their old operations without having to live with
earlier restrictions. Those restrictions said: "old power plants when making
other life-prolonging modifications, would be required to install modern
pollution controls" 1. This was reported in all the newspapers and on TV. But
the sound bite coverage of the news, that I saw, presented percentages in
quick fashion and left me somewhat puzzled as to the full meaning. So here
are some real numbers you can look at and analyze. They tend to broaden
our understanding of the full impact.

In 2001 power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) were about 15.8 Million
Tons (yes, that's millions of tons). This is the soot product that has been
linked to "premature death from heart attack and respiratory problems, acid
rain, and haze in our national parks".1   The study I reviewed addresses only
548 plants ( the dirtiest). Those 548 emitted 10.1 million tons. If only these
548 plants were to implement modern emission standards (installing
scrubbers) they could reduce that total of 15.8 (national total) to about 8.7
million tons. Instead by relaxing the standards, and allowing them to
rejuvenate those plants, without the environmental restrictions,that number of
15.8 will no doubt be driven up.

In 2002 our national output of nitrogen oxide (NOx) was about 22 million tons.
This is the smog, ground level ozone polluter that causes respiratory illness
and asthma, and acid rain. Our 548 dirtiest plants only accounted for 4.4
million tons, but if moderns standards were employed in those 548 plants, this
number could be reduced by 62% or 2.7 million tons.

CO2 carbon dioxide the greenhouse gas - power plant output for 2002 = 6.4
Billion Tons . I don't know how much automobiles add to this number but I
guess it doesn't make any difference anymore. It doesn't make any difference
today because, the administration has "decided" that addressing "climate
change" is not a part of the Clean Air Act. And if greenhouse gases are
causing global warming they are not apart of the Clean Air Act, greenhouse
gases must not be a pollutant. Don't you just love that logic?   Yet it is
interesting to note, the EPA states: "Driving a private car is probably a typical
citizen's most "Polluting" daily activity".2

What does this mean to you, your health, your kids health? Please go to this
website, put in your zip code and read it all the way to the bottom.
http://www.scorecard.org/community/     Then play around within that website:
See who your dirty neighbors are, see what they are adding to your Clean Air.
Kinda frightening! Then come back here and read on. Oh and for those of
you within the Kansas City area: KCPL has begun to permit process to build
an 850MW coal fired unit in historic Weston Mo. Oh and by the way the state
of Missouri has issued a statewide Mercury advisory. Included in this advisory
is a warning that we should not eat ANY largemouth bass caught in the state.

In light of the fact that : "George Bush's own Office of Management and
Budget confirmed that environmental protection is highly cost effective.... OMB
found that, on average, each dollar spent on environmental regulation over
the past decade returned more than six dollars in health care savings and
improved worker productivity."3 : Why then would the administration sabotage
programs that could benefit people and save money at the same time? Why
would a President, who during his campaign promised to mandate reductions
in the 4 major pollutants (including CO2) , break that promise within 60 days of
taking office? Why would Congress go along with it? I guess to find the
answer we should look to the work of the Lobbyist!

Who is most likely to benefit from the relaxing of restrictions? Who will have to
reinvest some of their profits if the restrictions are imposed? Who can afford
to invest "a little here and a little there" , today, to reap incredible benefits
later?   That's pretty simple: The oil, gas and electric companies, the
automobile companies, and any industry that uses fossil fuel to generate a
product. We all, conservatives and liberals alike, accept that President Bush
is a big business President. Nobody is really surprised at the positions he is
taking with regard to his new programs (regardless of what he names his
programs). But what does it take to get Congress to support these programs?
What's the investment and what returns might these industrial giants expect?
Because these companies impact all parts of our environment: it is difficult to
separate the numbers that apply to the"Clean Air act" only. Next time, when
we try to tie together the whole environment "thing" I will present you with some
numbing numbers. You will see how their lobbying efforts pay off.

In this capitalistic society companies doing all they can to grow their business
is to be applauded, right?   Producing a saleable product with the least
amount of cost is the American way! But what is the cost?   What is the cost to
you and me, our kids and grandkids?   What is the cost to the land we live on?
"25% of Adirondack lakes incapable of supporting life... decline of the forest
ecosystem throughout the Eastern U.S. and Canada"1 You fishermen, read
that last sentence again.   Are the short term monetary profits really worth the
long term cost in terms of our health and welfare? I think not. What can "we"
do about this stuff? "We" can't compete with the big money! How about you
writing your Senator or Representative a nice long letter to tell them you don't
appreciate this country's future being sacrificed for today's profits. You don't
have to address a specific bill or regulation, as there are changes occurring
each day. Remind them that although you don't have the money to back them
in their campaign, you do have a vote that could defeat them. And remember:

"We have not inherited the world from our Forefathers:
We have borrowed it from our Children"
Kashmiri Proverb

Get Mad, Speak Out, Be Heard &
Take Care
Paul