Lisa
Jackson, Environmental Protection Agency head, announced Thursday she
was leaving her post, “confident the [EPA] ship is sailing in the right
direction,” according to published media statements.
The
question is -- the right direction for whom?
In
a Sept. 28 statement posted on her official government blog, Jackson marked the
50th anniversary year of ecologist Rachel Carson’s book,
Silent Spring, with glowing commentary. Carson, of course, was the crusading
environmentalist who is largely credited with launching the modern day green
movement. She wrote in her 1962 book of the effects of pesticides and DDT on
the environment – the supposed silent killer of the bald eagle. The EPA, much
to the delight of malaria-carrying mosquitos everywhere, subsequently banned
the use of DDT. As a curious sidebar, even the very liberal New York Times
questioned the sensibility of banning DDT in a 2004 article entitled, What the
World Needs Now is DDT. Yet Carson’s claim to fame – as a caring and trusted
advocate for the environment – remains intact in the world of leftists. This,
from Jackson, on Sept. 28:
“One of my priorities as administrator
of EPA has been to continue what Rachel began by working to expand the
conversation on environmentalism. Bringing people together around environmental
issues is essential. We want mothers and fathers to know how important clean
air, water and land are to their health and the health of their children. We
want to continue to engage African Americans and Latinos and expand the
conversation on environmental challenges, so we can address health disparities
resulting from pollution that affects low-income and minority communities.
Environmental justice will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of
protection from environmental and health hazards. … Though we’ve made a great
deal of progress since Silent Spring, we still have much work to do. Heart
disease, cancer and respiratory illnesses are three of the top four most fatal
health threats in American … and all three have been linked to environmental
causes. … [Carson’s] message remains as true and as critical today as it was 50
years ago.”
If
only Carson’s messages were truthful.
“History
has proven Carson’s claims wrong,” wrote Angela Logamasini, a senior fellow for
the Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute,
in November. “Contrary to her admonitions, a chemically caused cancer epidemic
never came to pass.”
Rather,
Carson used “harsh and unscientific rhetoric” to sell her anti-chemical message.
Logamasini found. Scientists have since rebuked Carson’s supposed findings –
but the damage is done. Not only are farmers and producers subjected to costly
impositions and regulations aimed at furthering “organic” practices – unnecessary
costs that are then passed along to the consumer. But the public relations
battle of environmentalism has stubbornly stayed in the Carson camp among
bureaucratic leaders. Witness Jackson, who in her tenure has overseen the
implementation of historic fuel economy standards (guaranteed to boost the cost
of cars and transportation on the American consumer), as well as first-ever
mercury pollution standards. Can you say, ‘Goodbye, coal-fired plants?’
Carson
would be proud. But for the average American, facing tough financial times and
household budget crunches, the price of EPA’s leftist environmental justice
programs, and radical regulatory controls, are too steep to pay. Let’s hope
Jackson’s replacement adopts a more reasonable environmental approach.
See here: http://blog.epa.gov/administrator/
Sharing...thanks.
ReplyDelete