I was very pleased to read that President Bush wants to protect the nation’s water supply from terrorists. This is a major change for the Bush administration; up until now, it has had absolutely no interest in protecting the nation’s drinking water.
I wonder whether Bush is now willing to do anything about these existing sources of water pollution:
– Factory farms. When the waste lagoon of a giant factory farm overflows into a stream, vast numbers of fish are killed and people must find another source of drinking water. Well water is also endangered.
– Coal mining. The highly acidic runoff from coal mines poisons the water in many parts of the country.
– Gold and silver mining. Poisonous cyanide and mercury are used to leach the metals from the rocks. The consequence for nearby water is catastrophic.
– Pesticides. Do I really need to say anything about this problem?
It’s nice that Bush is concerned about what foreign terrorists might do to our water, but there is already plenty of water pollution that must be dealt with.
That should be his priority.
