Get rid of the EPA. Maybe the US can make this list :)

[Doppel]

World's most polluted countries, the "winner", Mongolia, gets 14X WHO levels of air pollution. Gotta give props to China, they didn't make the list.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/44781282/World_s_Most_Polluted_Countries

 

[DaveSimmons]

> Gotta give props to China, they didn't make the list.

Probably because local officials fake the data to hide how toxic the air and water is. Or because China is large enough that the polluted zones are a smaller percentage of their total lands.

 

[glenn1]

World's most polluted countries, the "winner", Mongolia, gets 14X WHO levels of air pollution. Gotta give props to China, they didn't make the list.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/44781282/World_s_Most_Polluted_Countries

I doubt the U.S. would make the list even if the EPA were abolished. One can support conservation and clean air/water while still arguing that many of the new rules being passed by today's EPA represent either diminishing returns at best or gross misuse of resources at worst.

 

[a777pilot]

I like the EPA. I like any organization that thinks they can control dust and farm animal farts.

 

[monovillage]

I like the EPA. I like any organization that thinks they can control dust and farm animal farts.

Don't forget the EPA also classified spilled milk as a toxic oil spill. It took quite a bit of lobbying from the dairy industry to stop it.
http://www.epa.gov/osweroe1/content/spcc/spcc_milk.htm

They used to be a solution to a problem, now they're part of another problem.

 

[Lithium381]

more regulations are BETTER FOR US. Because they know whats best, regadless of the cost or feasibility

 

[monovillage]

more regulations are BETTER FOR US. Because they know whats best, regadless of the cost or feasibility

Dang! I forgot that for a few minutes. Now i remember, we must not ever, ever question what our benevolent leaders want to do. Thanks for reminding me!

 

[Phokus]

I remember visiting Los angeles 15 or so years ago and the air was absolutely terrible from all the car pollution... i went there last year and it was actually breathable. Strong environmental regulations have a very important place in society.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

I doubt the U.S. would make the list even if the EPA were abolished. One can support conservation and clean air/water while still arguing that many of the new rules being passed by today's EPA represent either diminishing returns at best or gross misuse of resources at worst.

So, what do you recommend replace the EPA? Without laws against pollution, free market forces would compel businesses that want to compete to pollute.

Or, in your capitalism fantasy world, do businesses spend money to prevent pollution because they are good and moral people like the fictional heroes in an Ayn Rand novel? (Would Hank Rearden pour mercury into a river to get rid of it? Of course not because he's a rational selfish guy who realizes that it's not really in his selfish interest to do that. Unfortunately not all businessmen are or would be like him and many free market dogmatists don't believe that pollution is even harmful.)

 

[Jaskalas]

Get rid of the EPA. Maybe the US can make this list

The EPA has an important role to play, but attacking CO2 is reason enough to see it burned to the ground.

 

[DaveSimmons]

A single dairy cow generates over 100 pounds of wastes per day, so the "spilled milk" and "cow farts" examples aren't as funny as you think.

Agribusiness runs ads now to say how much greener they are, but one reason they've spent the extra money to reduce their pollution is the evil gubment regulations.

Like a little manure in your drinking water? Burn down the EPA and move anywhere near a factory farm.

 

[woolfe9999]

So, what do you recommend replace the EPA? Without laws against pollution, free market forces would compel businesses that want to compete to pollute.

Or, in your capitalism fantasy world, do businesses spend money to prevent pollution because they are good and moral people like the fictional heroes in an Ayn Rand novel? (Would Hank Rearden pour mercury into a river to get rid of it? Of course not because he's a rational selfish guy who realizes that it's not really in his selfish interest to do that. Unfortunately not all businessmen are or would be like him and many free market dogmatists don't believe that pollution is even harmful.)

Better question to ask is, name one country with lax or no environmental regs that has a clean environment.

Libertarianism is long on principles and short on evidence.

 

[monovillage]

A single dairy cow generates over 100 pounds of wastes per day, so the "spilled milk" and "cow farts" examples aren't as funny as you think.

Agribusiness runs ads now to say how much greener they are, but one reason they've spent the extra money to reduce their pollution is the evil gubment regulations.

Like a little manure in your drinking water? Burn down the EPA and move anywhere near a factory farm.

Renewable energy using cattle manure.
http://www.seco.cpa.state.tx.us/re_biomass-manure.htm

The problem is they wanted to treat spilled milk the same way they treat hazardous oil spills.

 

[novasatori]

so is there a problem with the epa or just the fact it is decoupled from serving the people, just like every other part of our government

 

[Ausm]

> Gotta give props to China, they didn't make the list.

Probably because local officials fake the data to hide how toxic the air and water is. Or because China is large enough that the polluted zones are a smaller percentage of their total lands.

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Hell let's deregulate EVERYTHING that would stand in the way of a profit.

 

[werepossum]

The EPA does some stupid things and like all bureaucrats need to be slapped down from time to time, but most of what they do is good work. We do need to change the rule that the EPA cannot use economic effect as a factor in consideration, but in general our country benefits from stiff but smart environmental regulations. We just need to structure our economic and import regulations and tariffs so that we pay for our clean environment rather than just shipping the jobs off to even dirtier manufacturers in other nations and therefore hiding the cost - or rather, moving the cost to lost jobs.

 

[ElFenix]

World's most polluted countries, the "winner", Mongolia, gets 14X WHO levels of air pollution. Gotta give props to China, they didn't make the list.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/44781282/World_s_Most_Polluted_Countries

mongolia is only polluted because shit from china blows in.

 

[Atreus21]

Can anyone get some pollution data in the United States prior to the EPAs inception?

 

[Ausm]

Can anyone get some pollution data in the United States prior to the EPAs inception?

I will see if I can dig some up but I can tell you a Story my Granny once shared with me that before there was an EPA the city she lived in sewer pipes went right into the local river

 

[woolfe9999]

Can anyone get some pollution data in the United States prior to the EPAs inception?

Well, if you research the issue you're going to discover that it's the EPA itself which has the most comprehensive data on pollution in the US year over year. Don't have pre-EPA data at my fingertips, but this shows total emissions declined steadily since 1980:

http://www.epa.gov/airtrends/aqtrends.html#comparison