and big bid-nez (in this case the coal companies)

get away with murder LITERALLY

this is 2009 america and we KNOW we're killing mother earth, yet we allow it to continue. not just that, we're allowing our CHILDREN to slowly be eaten away by toxins. i don't know obama's record on this type of thing but i know king george didn't give a flying f**k. he unsigned several agreements put into place (by clinton) to have big bid-nez be accountable for their actions.
the nyt has an EXTENSIVE article (linked below) on this. they also have done some comprehensive studies (links in the article itself). it is might impressive. (by state, then by city, then by violator then the number of violations and the fines. in connecticut there were NO fines levied)



Clean Water Laws Are Neglected, at a Cost to Health

By CHARLES DUHIGG

Jennifer Hall-Massey knows not to drink the tap water in her home near Charleston, W.Va.

In fact, her entire family tries to avoid any contact with the water. Her youngest son has scabs on his arms, legs and chest where the bathwater — polluted with lead, nickel and other heavy metals — caused painful rashes. Many of his brother’s teeth were capped to replace enamel that was eaten away.

Neighbors apply special lotions after showering because their skin burns. Tests show that their tap water contains arsenic, barium, lead, manganese and other chemicals at concentrations federal regulators say could contribute to cancer and damage the kidneys and nervous system.........

toxic waters

pic:

Damon Winter/The New York Times

Ryan Massey, 7, shows his caps. Dentists near Charleston, W.Va., say pollutants in drinking water have damaged residents’ teeth. Nationwide, polluters have violated the Clean Water Act more than 500,000 times.

just so we know iraq still exists

and what we did not only to the iraqis but our OWN MEN AND WOMEN, i wanted to post this. remember too, their health care down the road is the responsibility of all of us as well (and no, i'm not complaining about that part. we OWE these heroes. but we also owe them not to knowingly put them in cancer causing conditions)

Pentagon knowingly exposed troops to cancer-causing chemicals, document shows
John Byrne

A newly leaked military document appears to show the Pentagon knowingly exposed US troops to toxic chemicals that cause cancer, while publicly downplaying the risks exposure might cause.

The document, written by an environmental engineering flight commander in December of 2006 and posted on Wikileaks (PDF) on Tuesday, details the risks posed to US troops in Iraq by burning garbage at a US airbase. It enumerates myriad risks posed by the practice and identifies various carcinogens released by incinerating waste in open-air pits.

Because of the difficulties in testing samples, investigators could not prove that chemicals exceeded military exposure guidelines. But a military document released last December found that chemicals routinely exceeded safe levels by twice to six times...........

who needs FOREIGN terrorists

when we have our OWN kbr? (rep sally kern should be MORE concerned with organizations such as kbr INSTEAD of being homophobic and saying gay people are worse than terrorists, no?)
Halliburton managers told workers carcinogen was 'mild irritant,' workers say
Hallburton subsidiary KBR told employees at a water injection plant in Iraq a sand-like substance scattered around the plant was just a "mild irritant," workers recall.
It turns out to be sodium dichromate -- a highly toxic chemical which can lead to cancer even with limited exposure.
Now nine Americans are suing KBR, according to a report in Tuesday's Boston Globe. They say they spent 2 1/2 months covered in the substance as they rushed to get the plant online, a key component in Iraq's oil infrastructure.
"Many of the 22 Americans and 100-plus Iraqis began to complain of nosebleeds, ulcers, and shortness of breath," the Globe's Farah Stockman writes. "Within weeks, nearly 60 percent exhibited symptoms of exposure, according to the minutes of a meeting of project managers from KBR, the Houston-based construction company in charge of the repairs.".......