Iamsemisweet
Posts: 3651
Joined: 4/9/2011
From: The Great Northwest, USA
Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: popeye1250
Sweet, where did I "advocate" "the expansion of 50 state mini EPA's?"
Obviously, if the feds are out of the environmental regulation business, the states will have to pick it up. I will acknowledge you didn't say it, but it kind of goes without saying
I simply acknowledged their existence.
Yes, they exist. They aren't up to the task of Brownfield work, though, for instance. Nor can they be expected to deal with pollution caused in other states that they have no control over.
And what do govt. employees in Washington do exactly besides push paper?
If you are referring to Washington DC, I couldn't say. Some paper undoubtedly needs to get pushed. If you are talking about Washington State, plenty. There are lots of govt. employees located in other places besides Washington DC, you know. My brother was a federal employee, and very active in the field. My Love is similarly a federal employee, who does plenty of work outside the office
If we depended solely on the EPA and it's employees how many oil spills do you think would get cleaned up? ("I'm from the government and I'm here to help.")
If we depended solely on the oil companies and the State of Texas, how many oil spills do YOU think would get cleaned up ? They wouldn't do it if they weren't being forced.
, don't they have courts in Montana?
Why yes. Yes they do. And Grace has been sued in them. However, because Grace been bankrupt, they aren't required to clean up Libby. Here is a brief explanation:
Vermiculite, an ore found in the area in 1881, had been mined in the area since 1919.[8][9] In 1919, E.N. Alley bought the Rainy Creek claims and started the Zonolite Company. Zonolite is a branded trademark product made from vermiculite.[10] W. R. Grace and Company bought the Zonolite mine in 1963. Previously, logging was the leading source of employment in Libby. In 1999, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer published a series of articles documenting extensive deaths and illness from the asbestos contaminated vermiculite at Grace's former mine.[10] Federal Government investigators subsequently found that air samples from the area had high levels of fibrous tremolite asbestos, which is suspected to have caused asbestos related ailments among former Zonolite employees and their family members.[11][12][13] More than 274 area deaths are suspected to have been caused by asbestos-related diseases, and 17% of the residents who participated in the ATSDR screening study in Libby were found to have pleural abnormalities, which may be related to exposure to asbestos.[14] The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been overseeing the removal of asbestos-contaminated soils and other suspect materials in and near Libby since May 2000,[15] and has spent $370 million in Superfund money on cleanup.[16][17][18] On June 11, 2008, the EPA and the Department of Health and Human Services launched an $8 million investigation into the effects of asbestos exposure on the people of Libby.[19] In 2008 a $60 million settlement was reached with an unspecified number of owners of homes and businesses throughout the United States who used insulation products made by Grace & Co. The attics were insulated with Zonolite, which contained vermiculite that was contaminated with asbestos.[20] Two documentary films, Libby, Montana, and Dust to Dust, and four books (An Air That Kills by Andrew Schneider and David McCumber, Libby, Montana: Asbestos and the Deadly Silence of an American Corporation by Andrea Peacock, and Wasting Libby: The True Story of How the WR Grace Corporation Left a Montana Town to Die (and Got Away with It) by Andrea Peacock, and Fatal Deception by Michael Bowker) have been written regarding the asbestos issue in Libby. In February 2005 the Federal Government began a criminal conspiracy prosecution[21] of Grace and of seven current and former Grace employees. The government alleged that Grace conspired to hide from employees and the town residents the asbestos dangers and that it knowingly released asbestos into the environment.[21] On May 8, 2009, a jury found W.R. Grace & Co. and the accused employees not guilty on all counts, ending what was called the biggest environmental-crime prosecution in U.S. history.[15] On June 17, 2009 the EPA declared its first public health emergency. This emergency covers Libby and nearby Troy. It will provide an additional $130 million in cleanup and medical assistance.[15] The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act includes a provision which would expand Medicare payments to victims of such public health emergencies.[22][23]
I don't like your view of liberty either with that "centralized" stuff.
I don't like your view either, where corporations have more rights than individuals.
Ever hear of the tenth amendment and state's rights?
Why yes. Yes I have.
Sweet, the "centralized" federal govt. can't even control our borders or enforce our immigration laws and you trust them because?
Not quite sure what that has to do with environmental laws, but leave it to a conservative to make a pretty big leap of logic. It isn't a matter of trusting the federal govt, it is a matter of trusting my neighboring states less, when it comes to environmental protection.
_____________________________
Alice: But I don't want to go among mad people.
The Cat: Oh, you can't help that. We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.
Alice: How do you know I'm mad?
The Cat: You must be. Or you wouldn't have come here.
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What does the Republicans have against the Environment? - 
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