Why Is It Different?

In the last few days, the Environmental Protection Agency caused a massive spill of pollutants into the Animas River in Colorado.  Three million gallons of water carrying all sorts of metals (like arsenic at levels 800 times the maximum safe amount) were dumped into the river when the EPA personnel breached a containment dam at a non-operating mine site.  The Animas River flows into the Colorado, so the poisons endanger not only the small numbers of people in the rural parts of Colorado and New Mexico but also the cities of Las Vegas and Los Angeles that get a substantial part of their water from that river.  When the dike was breached by the EPA workers and the toxic brew started spewing into the river, what did the government do?  It appears the answer is NOTHING!  The chief engineer for the state of New Mexico said yesterday that the EPA did not warn people in his state of the potential danger and did not bother to inform the state of New Mexico directly of what had happened.

Okay, accidents happen.  We all know that.  Now imagine the reaction if instead of this environmental disaster being caused by the EPA, it was caused by a mining company or an oil company.  Can you imagine the outcry?  We would be hearing non-stop stories about the environmental disaster inflicted on the poor people of Colorado by the evil mining company or the greedy oil company.  So how many stories have you seen about this pollution?  The answer is not many, I am certain.  The story is being covered in some media, but for the most part it is being ignored.  Literally millions of people lie in the path of this poisonous plume of pollution, but since it came from the EPA itself, the media is not paying much attention.  It's a disgrace.