Rabid Liberal Rants » EPA

EPA Might Not Act To Limit Rocket Fuel In Drinking Water

rabidliberal — Wed, 07 May 2008 03:03:32 +0000

You read it right. There is rocket fuel in drinking water, “found in at least 395 sites in 35 states”. It’s called perchlorate. And the EPA – the ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Agency- rather than pushing for safe standards, pushing for cleanup, for both health and environmental reasons, has been twiddling their thumbs for years, has been pushed around by DoD and their contractors. Instead, they’re thinking about issuing a public health advisory.

[Perchlorate] interferes with thyroid function and poses developmental health risks, particularly to fetuses.

If you care about rocket fuel in your drinking water, call your elected official and tell them you want it cleaned up. And while your at it, contact the EPA and let them know you don’t want perchlorate in your drinking water.

More information on perchlorate:

Universal Health Care

rabidliberal — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:34:01 +0000

Christian Science Monitor has an opinion page on the Universal Health Care proposals being bandied about by both Dem candidates, saying it may not even be Constitutionally legal. Personally, I think the whole idea is crazy. Do we really want another large bureaucracy? Has our government managed anything properly lately? Social Security and Medicare are both nearing bankruptcy. Our war veterans can’t even get proper care at the Army’s “Top” medical facility, Walter Reed. How about the EPA telling us the air was safe to breathe in downtown NYC, right after 9/11? Or 9/11 First Responders who are dying because they can’t get the proper care, after breathing in the toxic dust? We’re providing nice subsidies to farmers who will use their farm land to produce corn for biofuels, driving up the cost of everyday household staples like wheat and milk. And we’re giving HUGE tax breaks to oil companies that make billions of dollars every quarter. How about getting rid of the tax breaks, and sending that money over to people who can’t afford health care? I won’t even go into the management of our economy or the Iraq/Afghanistan war. And I don’t want the government involved in what type of care I can get. What we do need is more insurance choices, tort reform, a limit to frivolous lawsuits, lower insurance costs for doctors. I bet there are more people that have either cell phones or cable/satellite TV than have insurance.

And to just get an idea of how our government works for big business rather than you and me, check out these stats for 2007 (courtesy of opensecrets.org):

The Health sector ranked #1 in total lobbying spending with $425,832,461
Of the $425+ million, $219,685,061 came from Pharmaceuticals/Health Products such as Amgen, Pfizer, and GlaxoSmithKline.
$48,218,712 came from Health Services/HMOs such as United HealthCare, Aetna, Wellpoint, and HealthSouth.
In addition, for 2008 Election Year cycle, the Health Services/HMOs contributed over $5 million to Federal Candidates and Parties, with the top spender being United Health Group.

Pesticides found in everyday food products

rabidliberal — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 05:00:38 +0000

The Seattle Post Intelligencer has an article on how harmful pesticides are found in everyday foods we eat. It says organic fruits and vegetables have little or no pesticides.

This, on top of the perchlorate [rocket-fuel] contamination in tap water, makes me wonder what exactly is safe to feed our children.

Another good reason to switch to organic food. Problem is cost. It’s always more expensive. For me, I don’t care too much, but when it comes to my kid, we go organics as much as we can.