THE EPA: A BENEVOLENT VISION OR A DRACONIAN NIGHTMARE?
Thomas Edison invented a lot of things in his lifetime. One of which is a long lasting incandescent light bulb. Of course, little did he know his creation would be phased out in the twenty-first century. But that’s the plan currently being enforced by none other than the EPA—The Environmental Protection Agency.
Created by President Richard Nixon with an executive order, the EPA’s primary role is to establish and enforce environmental protection standards consistent with national environmental goals. Clearly, this description was meant to be broad and sweeping, allowing for the agency to come up with Draconian regulations to remind THE PEOPLE what matters most in this world…and it’s not human beings. In fact, I have a shorter description that better explains the primary role of the agency:
Save a Fish, Starve a Nation
Yeah! Because that’s what happened a few years ago in northern California when the preservation of an “endangered” SMELT in the San Joaquin River Delta started an epic battle. Environmentalists versus local farmers, whose water supply for their crops was decreased by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (EPA). It was to give the fish a fighting chance! I mean really, does anyone see the sheer lunacy in this scenario? Tell me this is not an example of a national environmental goal. And how about the couple in Idaho, who was told they couldn’t build a home on the land they bought because the EPA designated it as wetlands. It had to do with the Clean Water Act and this David versus Goliath dispute actually went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Maybe initially, the agency was meant to achieve some benevolent vision. But in 2012, the grand nanny of enforcers is seen far more as an opportunist making money at the expense of the American People. Take for example, their enforcement of a law that requires all of us to eventually stop using the incandescent light bulb. This action is not so much about energy conservation as it is telling us what to do. Yeah, I know Congress passed the bill and President GW Bush signed it. But that was a mistake. The law which forbids the manufacture and import of incandescent bulbs in the United States didn’t have my approval as a consumer and someone who sees the government’s decision as taking away my right to choose what I want to buy.
This is how the government is robbing us of our freedom. It’s subtle. But next time, it could be legislation to restrict the type of tires you can buy for your car or truck. The kind of flowers or trees you can plant in your yard because don’t forget…we’re conserving water, too. I mean, who wants the First Lady telling retailers what kind of food to carry in their stores, knowing the retailers are going to do whatever she tells them. Or face consequences.
Seriously, being green is not everybody’s top priority at the moment when there are over 46 million Americans receiving FOOD STAMPS in order to make ends meet. Believe it or not, there are people who can barely afford to fill their car’s gas tank to drive to their minimum wage job. And you know what? They don’t give a rat’s behind about LUMENS versus WATTS. They’re just trying to keep the lights on! So the next time you contact your representative in Congress, let him or her know that no one should be forced to buy a fifty dollar light bulb, thirty dollar or even a five dollar light bulb in this economy, when the ninety-nine cent incandescent bulb works just fine?
Truth is as long as most politicians get your vote, they could care less if you sit in the dark or not.
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Tags: Clean Water Act, congress, EPA, Light Bulbs, Regulations
