This picture shows the worst case scenario for drinking water, which is that there is so many pollutants that it can be set on fire.Summary:
The Safe Drinking Water Act, or HR 2273, was passed by the House of Congress and allows corporations to pollute drinking water without any consequences because the bill does not allow the EPA to control or mandate the dumping of coal ash, lead, arsenic and other toxins. If this bill was not passed, it was thought about 28,000 new jobs would be created per year, but the government decided "to put the interests of corporate polluters ahead of the American public." The bill also allows states to make the regulations on toxins in drinking water instead of the EPA. Many states have already conducted programs to stop pollution, but now they can allow the pollution of drinking water because they cannot recieve any consequences. One of the bill's sponsers has recieved a number of mining company's donations and checks from other polluting companies. This bill not only affects humans, but it also destroys environments and habitats by poisoning water, food and even the air we breathe. HR 2273 was even based on an old standard of drinking water which states that 50 micrograms of toxins per liter is a safe amount to ingest. Now, the new standard is 10 micrograms of toxins per liter of water is safe to drink. The worst part of this bill is that once a decision is made by a state its "desicions cannot be reversed, even if they jeopordize public health."
Opinion:
I really cannot believe how the House allowed this to pass, and the votes were significantly in favor of the bill. It really makes me upset to see that the leaders of our country put themselves before the needs of the people they serve. HR 2273 is one of the worst bills past by Congress in my opinion because of the many effects it has on the environment and on humans' health. There is no way that drinking 50 micrograms of toxins per liter of water is healthy for any organism, and the fact that this bill was based on this old standard really makes this bill illegitimate. The ironic part of this bill is that it is called "The Safe Drinking Water Act" even though it is completely harmful to society and the environment.
Questions:
1. Make a list of toxins that are most prominent in drinking water.
2. Find areas that are most affected by coal ash, arsenic, lead, or other toxins.
3. Why do you think the composers of this bill based it around an old and outdated drinking water standard?
4. What are some ways to reduce toxins in drinking water?
4. one of the best ways to remove toxins are through an reverse osmosis filter, one of the other good ways to remove toxins is a active carbon filter
ReplyDeleteI feel that it is absurd that the government would side with the corporations. I wounder if this is deal was made to support the politic campaign of big polititions. It also concerns me that they can light water on fire in some areas, this is unacceptable and there hast to be a large change soon.
It's hard to believe that people can actually allow water to become this unhealthy, legally. It is doing a lot of damage to humans and the enviroment we live in. I disagree with this decision that Congress thinks is acceptable. This will have a huge impact on the enviroment in the near future.
ReplyDelete1.) Chlorine and fluoride are the most common chemicals found in water today
Absurd. Completely and utterly absurd. Allowing companies to actually allow that amount of toxins in the water that all living things rely on is just remarkably and undeniably irresponsible. There is no excuse or legitimate reason to give this kind of permission that could ultimately kill people in the end. The government needs to step up a bit and stop making the wrong decision. If they want the people to feel comfortable with the decisions and not be total dictators in a decision, they HAVE to give the people a say in the overall decision for their safety. But I guess all they really want is power over the people. Nothing else but.
ReplyDeleteQuestion #3: I believe they based it off the outdated standards because to them,its not important and all they want is the cash. They don't care about the people that they are supposed to support, they just want to do what they please and take the money. There really isn't a legitimate reason for them to put other people at a risk for something that is quite preventable.
EMILY GATTO
This makes no sense, and i cant believe i didnt hear about it before this. I thought that the government was trying to get us out of the "reccession" and fix the world while we were at it. It looks more like they are trying to fill their wallets, and hope they die before the bad stuff happens. And sorry for them, at the rate we are going it doesnt look like thats gonna happen.
ReplyDeleteI think that the reason they used the old model was because it was convenient for them to control the quality of th ethoughts behind it. Using an old model is using an outdated and inferior thought process this time. They are trying to ignore the science of the current time.