Tag Archives: Environmental Protection Agency

The Road to Diamond, Day 145: Fifty-four Years Later

0
Posted by on in animal and plant life, collaborating, Community, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

April 22, 2025- We are at a point where it is felt, by the government, that it is time to halt “coercion”, in matters of the environment and caring for Mother Earth. The case is being made for individuals and entities to tend to matters, without “government interference”.

The last time this was official policy, in the late 19th Century, there was a moral laxity afoot and the emphasis was on maximum profit, with the attitude that Nature would take care of itself. The legacy of that ethos led to such things as the fire that broke out on the Cuyahoga River and the Santa Barbara oil spill, in 1969, which in turn led President Richard Nixon to establish the Environmental Protection Agency, a year later. Earth Day, on April 22, 1970, was the national public response to the catastrophic events.

It has been celebrated every year since, with some Administrations supporting a measure of environmental safeguards and others leaning more on the judgment of business and industry. The current Administration seems to be taking the latter course.

To be fair, business and industry of today are not as blinkered, or myopic, as their forebears. “Green” technology is viewed, rightly, as profitable, when pursued in a cost-effective manner and incrementally. Sustainability is recognized as being good for business, in the long-term. There are ham-handed industrialists and financiers, as yet, but their likelihood of staying in the drivers’ seats of publicly-held corporations is not a given. Many business people with whom I have talked are quite concerned about leaving a viable enterprise and a livable world for their children and grandchildren.

So, the long-term prognosis for our planet is not as bleak as it may seem, in the wake of climate change and the increase in catastrophic natural events. We have part to play in mitigating the severity of these events, and that means working together on solutions, which will neither bankrupt our economies nor add to the suffering of those already in the crosshairs of the storms, fires and quakes that are striking us with seemingly unpredictable regularity.

Fifty-four years after the first Earth Day, it falls to the citizenry to show Mother Earth our love and concern.

Influence

0
Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Striving

February 17, 2023- I spent the better part of this morning helping to evaluate a school facility, as a potential Red Cross shelter site, in the event of a large-scale emergency. The purpose is always to help people who are suffering, as a result of wildfire, local flooding or a hazardous materials event.

The chances of the last two are relatively small. That set me to thinking about East Palestine, Ohio- a place that has suffered severe environmental and health damage, as a result of a chemical leak and “controlled” fire, which nonetheless sent toxic smoke into the air, over at least a 50-mile radius of eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Chemical pollution of the Ohio River and its tributaries has already reportedly resulted in large-scale fish kills.

Norfolk Southern, which operates the trains involved in the incident, resisted Federal pressure to digitize the pneumatic braking systems on its trains. That pressure was relieved under Trump administration rules, apparently with the expectation that the company would figure out how to do the right thing, without the government’s knee on its back. The railroad opted not to update the braking systems, citing cost. The Biden administration as well, has defended Norfolk Southern in court, up to now. I wonder, given the costs that are accruing to the company, as it pays for Hazardous Materials cleanup and gives $5000 a household to people in the affected area, whether failure to update was indeed cost effective.

The Federal EPA is actively involved in the response to this horror, but the rest of the Executive Branch seems to be not so concerned. Norfolk Southern is a Class I railroad, meaning that it has a fair amount of clout in the national transportation scheme. Do the people of East Palestine and western Beaver County matter much to the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Justice? Bureaucratic wheels grind slowly, so time will tell. Maybe electronic pneumatic braking will again be required. Maybe the winding railroad through the hills of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia will be upgraded, minimizing the risks that residents of northern Appalachia face, on a daily basis.

Maybe this terrible event will lead to some meaningful long-term action. Maybe the President’s words, about not leaving anyone out, will be truthful, in deed. Time will tell.