The Hudson River

I gotta be honest here – the bit about “markets for water quality trading” really bothers me. It smacks of the self-defeating, wishy-washy approach taken to carbon emissions whereby polluters swap ‘pollution credits’. It does not address the problem directly nor fix it in the shorter term, if ever.

Come on, let’s bite the bullet now and decide that we don’t want our children and our children’s children killing each other over clean water. Hell, they still might have to, given the amount of residual toxic material out there (including PCBs).

Set the level of pollutants allowed into any water source, anywhere, at ZERO and let the world of commerce figure it out. And they will. You know it and I know it. Profits won’t be $123 million this quarter, only $76 million, but we will – as a species – finally be heading towards the correct path at the fork in the road.

The technology is not an impossible hurdle as dumping toxic waste into the environment as part of an industrial process is not a prerequisite for a company’s financial success. It might cost more to not poison the Earth, but it can be done. Companies – and the individuals behind them – would just have to stop seeing the Earth as a wide open sewer and dumping ground. And yes, the “can’t see it from my backyard” approach to problems would obviously have to go.

Set a policy of zero tolerance as well – for example, a company’s board of directors gets canned the first time a guy or gal on night shift pulls the ‘secret lever’ to release a plume into the river under the radar. Reward whistleblowers instead of allowing them to be fired. Etc, etc.

Half-assed, half-baked and half-hearted attempts at preserving our planet while keeping the major focus on ensuring the corporate world’s profits are constantly on the increase is not the way forward. Short-sighted does not begin to describe that mindset.

Allow our democratic system of governance the opportunity to finally overshadow the capitalist economic system that has sadly led / driven / facilitated our journey to the brink of something profoundly obscene. And, of course, hope that it is not already too late – Hudson

By BRETT WALTON for Circle of Blue

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a draft version of its clean water strategy on Friday and is allowing public comments on the document through September 17.

The draft document, “Coming Together for Clean Water,” outlines a broad strategy for improving water quality. The EPA plans to strengthen water pollution regulations under the Clean Water Act and complete a comprehensive scientific assessment of the country’s water bodies.

Though it lacks quantitative targets, the document suggests stricter pollution standards pertaining to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System and an expansion of stormwater discharge permits.

Other areas of focus include minimizing loss of aquatic life from cooling water intake structures, evaluating the effects of mining on water supplies, protecting rivers and lakes from invasive species as well as reducing sewer overflows. To gain a better baseline understanding of national water quality, the EPA will also complete a series of five Aquatic Resource Surveys in the next several years.

The Chesapeake Bay has been identified as an area of particular concern because of President Obama’s Executive Order calling on the federal government to lead the bay’s restoration effort. Possible actions include stronger total maximum daily load regulations, markets for water quality trading and regulations for reducing excess nutrient runoff.

The EPA also identifies the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico as other water bodies of national significance and would like to apply a similar program in those areas.

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Read EPA’s draft version of its clean water strategy
Visit EPA