America Is Dying
 

If we set aside the labels of Republican and Democrat, Liberal and Conservative, and other political party labels we're left with the one name that unites all of us at the very core. Americans! We're like a family. We may bicker among ourselves but when the chips are down we know how to stick together. We saw it in action after 9-11, when New Yorkers reached out to help each other and the entire country came together to offer comfort and care.

We are facing a situation where never before has the old typewriter practice phrase, "Now is the time for all good men (and women) to come to the aid of their country" been more relevant. America needs our help and everyone who loves this country is called to put aside party loyalty for loyalty to our nation.

In the last 3 years, 200 of our environmental protections, representing 40 years of work to establish, have been rolled back. We are polluting the skies above America, her streams and rivers, poisoning her fish, contaminating her soil and making her bounty unfit to eat. Her beauty is being despoiled as her majestic forests are being cut down, and her mountains whittled away. She needs to be rescued or she won't be able to support life for her 250 million people. The worst part of it is that it is we who are killing her.

As of right now:
~ 80% of our states have warnings that fish from their lakes and rivers contain mercury from acid rain and dumping. Mercury causes severe organ damage. The government just issued a warning to limit intake of tuna and shellfish, especially for pregnant or lactating women because of the mercury contamination.
~ Rocket fuel has contaminated the Colorado River which in turn has contaminated winter lettuce which has been irrigated from the Colorado, and polluted the drinking water of 15 million people.
~ Hazardous wastes ranging from radioactive materials to biological residue like vials of anthrax found during a clean-up at Ft. Detrick, MD, are spread from shore to shore.
~All of our streams, rivers, lakes and waterways are contaminated with chemical pollutants. Some also contain human and animal waste.
~The pollutants in our air are responsible for a variety of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases that cause pre-mature death, including cancer and asthma.

President Bush relaxed the rules for air quality to favor industry rather than the health of the people. Bush replaced the existing Clean Air Act with the Clear Skies Act. It was presented in glowing terms giving the percentage of pollution reduction but fails to say that it allows a longer time frame, and raises the cap of emissions allowed by the existing Clean Air Act. Bush's Plan allows 36% more nitrous oxide emissions and will take 8 years longer to reach even the more liberal caps which will put more pollutants into our air. It allows 50% more sulfur dioxide and takes 6 more years to reach that and allows 190% more mercury even after 10 additional years. Bush has also stated that he doesn't think carbon dioxide is a pollutant. Of course, this automobile emission has been known to cause pollution for years. It is dangerous to humans and some plant life, for example, the majestic Giant Sahuaro of the Sonoran Desert in our southwest are being killed by increased carbon dioxide pollution. Anyone who has ever experienced "bad air" days knows the deleterious effects of pollution on health. The very young and the elderly are especially vulnerable.

Whether you support the president or not, we cannot support his policies on the environment. We cannot allow the energy and automobile industries to dictate these policies for their convenience and profit. We must demand that areas contaminated with hazardous waste, dumped by both industries and our government, be cleaned up.

We're poisoning America and ourselves and leaving a toxic wasteland for our children and grandchildren. If you say you love America, remember, actions speak louder than words. The sacrifice of America to corporate greed must be stopped.

12-11-03