Air Pollution

And that is not a play on words:

The leak occurred on Monday morning at a Lubrizol France plant near Rouen, 120 km (75 miles) northwest of Paris, and winds blew the invisible gas cloud south over northern France on Monday night and then up into England on Tuesday. Ohio-based Lubrizol, founded in 1928 and part of U.S. conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc since 2011, has production facilities in some 19 countries.

Good ol' American ingenuity, bringing an enhanced quality of life to peoples around the globe...

What a wise man builds, an ignorant man can tear down:

The North Carolina legislature this year exempted pollution sources from state oversight if they are also covered by federal rules and don’t pose an “unacceptable risk” to human health. Among the recommendations are setting looser screening thresholds for facilities that release pollutants directly upward, a change that would apply to about one-third of all facilities.

Because if it goes directly upwards, it can't hurt us, right? Fucking idiots. More philosophy: A civilization guided by those who are most lacking in wisdom is doomed to failure.

Koch Industries, the Kansas-based oil and chemical conglomerate whose owners Charles and David Koch have played a leading role in financing the fight against government regulation, is stepping up its investment in North Carolina politics at a critical moment for the state's energy future.

Definitely not what the doctor ordered:

At the request of large industrial polluters and under the label of “regulatory reform,” North Carolina legislators have fashioned a bill, House Bill 952, that will undercut the state air toxics program and weaken its protection of the health and well-being of all North Carolinians. To protect families and children from toxic chemicals in the air we breathe, representatives should defeat this ill-advised legislation.

If the puppets over at Civitas had an ounce of credibility, this piece of toxic crap legislation would top their "bad bill of the week" chart. But instead, they whine about funding for PBS. Here's the bill:

Thank you so much for the your wonderful support and comments on my story about trying to stop the runaway fracking train in North Carolina. The need for clear evidence-based comments is urgent because the east coast Triassic Basins could be the most dangerous shale-gas plays in the America. These shallow ancient lakebed shale gas deposits, located near several North Carolina's most important rivers for water supply, are riddled with near vertical faults and basaltic (diabase) dikes. These vertical geologic structures and the shallow depth make the potential for accidental vertical transport of gas and drilling fluids much higher in these basins than for deep shale deposits like the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania and New York.

Putting industry profits ahead of health concerns:

One of the strongest appeals came from North Carolina, a state Mr. Obama narrowly won in 2008. The state’s governor, Bev Perdue, a Democrat, argued against the new ozone rule. Her air quality director, B. Keith Overcash, wrote the E.P.A. pleading for a delay. “Lack of employment, loss of health care, and in some cases, loss of a home, also affect the health of our citizens,” he said.

Tough election season looming or not, actions like this must not go unchallenged. You're not the Director of Scary Propaganda, you're the Director of Air Quality. Act like it. When you join the ranks of these types:

Here are the details:

The first two hearings will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday at the McKeithan Center on the North Campus of Cape Fear Community College, 4500 Blue Clay Road, Castle Hayne. The third hearing will be held from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday in the Kenan Auditorium at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College Road.

I've been pretty impressed with the Star's coverage of a wide range of issues (including Titan), but to write an article about an upcoming public hearing, without mentioning that two citizens who previously spoke out are facing a SLAPP suit for doing so, is (at best) a gargantuan oversight: