EPA

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:

Last week, concerned citizens gathered outside an EPA hearing in Denver to demand a change in the EPA's 'Haliburton' loophole.

Testifying with them, was
former EPA official Wes Wilson who filed a Whistleblower lawsuit against the EPA.
Mr. Wilson was there specifically to testify about the EPA allowing Oil and Gas companies to inject toxic chemicals into the ground for the purpose of Hydraulic Fracturing, without disclosing those chemicals for public review as required by the Safe Drinking Water Act. This is known as the 'Haliburton loophole' passed in 2005.

Wes Wilson, who was featured in Josh Fox's 'Gasland', had a lot of community groups with him including What the Frack and Food and Watch as well as families - many of whom have suffered directly from fracking fluid contamination on their land.

The long road to treatment and reconciliation may be winding down:

The report, released Thursday, found that exposure to TCE, short for trichloroethylene, is convincingly linked to kidney cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and liver cancer, with more limited evidence that it causes bladder, esophageal, prostate, cervical, and breast cancers, as well as childhood leukemia. According to the findings, all routes of exposure can be carcinogenic to humans.

Delays and "inconclusive" studies are (unfortunately) not uncommon in cases like this; there's always some entity willing to spend time and money fighting against responsible action. But when it's our own government doing such, and the victims are veterans and their families, it's especially revolting:

A step in the right direction:

The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule reduces the amount of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide pollution that power plants in 27 eastern states are allowed to emit. The new, tougher standards will save the lives of an estimated 1,900 or more North Carolinians annually, Regan says, by easing the health complications of these dangerous pollutants.

You better believe there will be a significant pushback from the coal-burners, giving us one more good reason to keep the White House and recover our Congressional majorities. More from the EPA:

Folding it into the Department of Energy:

A bill introduced Thursday by Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C) would combine the DOE and the EPA into a new agency called the Department of Energy and Environment. The effort may also be an attempt by the GOP to rein in the EPA, which many Republicans accuse of pursuing too many costly environmental rules under the Obama administration.

Aside from the fact this would draw a huge amount of resources away from our environmental protectors (ergo massive staff reductions), the potential conflicts of interest are staggering. The DOE isn't just funded by taxpayers; money pours in from private industry, as well:

Tired of throwing tainted fish back in the water:

Mercury, arsenic and dioxins emitted by coal-fired power plants would have to be reduced under proposed rules unveiled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week. While the restrictions are written for public-health benefits under the Clean Air Act, a national sportsmen's group is applauding the move in a new report because of additional benefits - those to wildlife and fish.

It's been a while since we posted the list of fish to avoid eating due to Mercury bioaccumulation, so here it is again:

Big surprise, Republican mayor doesn't want to clean up water pollution:

Knight and Matheny told lawmakers the estimated cost of the sewer plant improvements was $70 million. That’s money the city didn’t have to spend as it struggled to cope with the recession.

Spending that kind of money would likely require an increase in water rates or a rise in property taxes. “We just want an extension of time,” Matheny said.

The City of Greensboro has had decades to prepare for these rules, Zack. But instead of requiring developers to utilize best practices in abating stormwater runoff, and instead of upgrading water treatment plants incrementally, you stuck your head in the sand and hoped the water would magically clean itself. If you want to blame anybody for that $70 million pricetag, look in the mirror, pal.

How far have we fallen that science must be defended in the op-ed pages:

The more we know about ill-health in humans and ill-effects on the natural world, the more obvious it is that industrial processes must be regulated for the common good. Some pollution is inevitable, but the government is right to put a lid on it.

Even small-government types will admit that protecting the health and safety of citizens is a legitimate and primary function of government. To discard decades of scientific analysis on the ill effects of toxins like Mercury is a violation of public trust on a level that borders on criminal, and we simply cannot stand by and watch it happen.

ProPublica is on the case:

The agency wants to look at the potential impacts on drinking water of each stage involved in hydraulic fracturing, where drillers mix water with chemicals and sand and inject the fluid into wells to release oil or natural gas. In addition to examining the actual injection, the study would look at withdrawals, the mixing of the chemicals, and wastewater management and disposal.

Hat-tip to conservative conservationist Jeff Sykes for pointing me in this story's direction.

Sacrificing thousands to benefit the few:

Thousands of N.C. businesses could have to apply for permits to release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, state environmental officials say, after a conservative think tank filed objections.

The agency ruled it would focus solely on the largest gas emitters, such as coal-fired power plants. The state Environmental Management Commission adopted the EPA rule. But objections, filed largely by the Raleigh-based John Locke Foundation, put a legal hold on them.

Proving (once again) that all that hooey about being on the side of "entrepreneurs" is just a smokescreen to obscure their whoring for the fossil fuel industry.