Saturday, December 6, 2008

Identity Crisis, part two

The Department of Environmental Protection, DEP in West Virginia got an award for having a great website, they have beautiful glossy brochures and at the Sustainable Fair, their booth was giving away bundles of free trees, although no one was there the three hours that I was there. I went to a public meeting, but we weren't allowed in the building until just fifteen minutes before the meeting started, so there was no real congregating, socailizing, or meeting of minds. We were escorted to the rooms in small groups, giving the experience an aire I associate with places of hidden agendas.
An insider told me that if they really did their job, they would be fired. But I found it encouraging that they also said that they would like to help protect the environment, but they need to have numbers of people with passion speaking out emphatically. I took it they have plenty of encouragement to back the coal companies agendas, and not much other ground on which to stand, but I thought they were the agency set in place to protect our environment. Oh, it's not that simple.
What they do do, it seems, is sell permits to destroy the environment, in increments, and it's very very cheap! The amounts of sludge that can be impounded is like a ton or less is 34$ and a ton and more is 60$, but there is absoultely no gradation in monies accepted for 300 billion gallons and numbers that are actually being used. And the standards set forth to protect Underground Injection Sites in other states with liners and critera for disposal is just turned on edge to allow coal companies to dump toxic waste directly into the water table! Recently, the DEP issued a permit to Massey Coal to blast and take down Coal River Mountain, a designated top-notch Wind Farm location, although years of research is showing the feasibility for wind farming-- a leader in Green Clean Power and a place to put West Virginia at the lead of the Nation in Technology, just like what Joe manchin spills on Television in his commercials, so why is this happening?
The DEP has an identity crisis just like many others in this countryside. They know they are named the DEP, but they think it means the Department of Easy Permits, and we need to help them remember they are responsible for Protecting our Environment. It's probably not their fault that they forgot; the leader is appointed, and might have to deal with more than one puppet string. It takes alot of co-ordination to make a puppet move exactly how you want it to, and they can get tangles up when they try to make a move on their own. I know someone who plays scissors rock paper really well, but we know someone might own the paper too.

Now it has been posted that the EPA, the National level Envirnomental Protection Agency is getting new power and how we were so excited to hear this until the ruleing about how they will calculate emissions hit the internet-- it seems that the EPA is forgetting who they are too, and may not be the Environmental ally I had hoped for. It is so strange to think of iving an agency power to work in your behalf, then realizing it was just a ploy of the mysterious five who foresaw the need to pacify with this agency, but also the foresight to buy them out first. Oh King Coal, did you really kill the Kennedy's? and let the Stones blame it on us, because we buy your products?
Maybe it is our fault, using electricity, but many with their lights on have really been in the dark about how it is sequestered, and all the dirty process and bad politics and twisted arms that go into "keeping your lights on". Sleep well, America, the new dawn approaches and you will need your rest.

1 comment:

Cleanriver said...

You are right. People who are working now at DEP and similar structures are not grounded as your Grandfather on the land, fresh air, clean water, and home grown food. They many times don´t even know what the role of the tree is. And it is very hard to explain to someone who is completely out of this experience what it means. If you talk to them, it seems that they believe that the fresh air is not from the trees, it is automatic. The answers are like if you ask children in the city and they say that milk is product of the pack in which they bought it (they don´t even see the cow in their life). And this is not the thought only, it is the real knowledge which came from direct asking such a person today. Person which should be competent in environmental protection. At the times of your Grandfather no one was able to be at this kind of position without previous rich life practice. But how such a person can be competent today if he don´t know what the forest is and he don´t know what it means?
I agree with you - it is department of easy permits. They ask you about how it is but then they write their papers and in their papers it is different, it is not so important what you have said. It is not important what is the reality and living truth, it is not important what living beings feel, they are led by papers. Their papers are here to be easy permits, because of they don´t need problems, they don´t need to say something to save nature, they need to be kind people, they need money at the end of the month and they want you to make their job. It is the truth.

Coal miners. Do they have any other view? Have they only eyes for brown, black and money? Why should they protect green, beautiful nature and fresh air if they cannot see it and breathe it? Why, if they are smokers for so long?

How would they fulfill their life if someone will take them their work? It can be very frustrating for them. Hm?

But are you responsible to think of it for themselves? I don´t think so.

One thing is important and it is connection of smoking and mining. Someone said that it is unreasonable to die healthy, so many decieded to die ill. Is it better ? :) I am joking, but the picture is sad. I think it is lack of real purpose and lack of willingness to find it.