Many are proposing cuts for Medicare and Medicaid as well as the Environmental Protection Agency as evidenced by the House of Representatives vote on Sept. 21, 2012, to eliminate the EPA. The high cost of health care and reduction of regulations go hand in hand. Many in our country are sick due to the quality of air, water and waste management.
I have had neighbors with cracks in their homes and drinking water smelling bad due to exploding in the strip mines of Ohio. The small towns in West Virginia are being wiped out by flooding water and sludge from the coal from the mountaintop mining. The streams are contaminated as well as the air. The roads are less safe because large trucks are transporting huge machines to use in the mining process and hauling coal to the trains.
When I hear candidates say they are going to work to reduce government regulation, I need to remind them of the burning waters of the Cuyahoga River back in the 1960s and early 1970s. Many say the regulations cause a loss of jobs. I think there are fewer employed in strip mining than underground. Some of the operators do not live in the affected areas. The only ones benefiting from this type of mining are a few large coal companies that then use their profits to contribute to politicians to keep regulations at a minimum. A major mining company is closing mines and laying off about 1,200 people. The say it is due to all the government regulations. Actually, it is because at this time natural gas is less costly and cleaner than coal.
I know many of my friends and neighbors do not think climate change is a fact. After this summer, I would think they would realize we are making a change on this earth and it is not for the good of the planet nor its inhabitants. I think giant windmills look better than bare mountain tops and polluted air and water. We need to elect officials who will protect us by keeping the EPA and other regulators of food, banks and Wall Street.
Margaret Meeker
Williamstown
