The Rooster
"Okeydoke"
I have been listening to Dan Rather's broadcast as of late. In this film loop, he discusses politics of the day and mentions that the EPA has armed agents. Well, every branch of the Executive Branch of the USA federal system has armed agents. There aren't nearly as many in present day, because, under the "W" administration they were being actively defunded.
But, that is beside the point I am trying to make.
Dan Rather's reference to the armed agents of the EPA caused me to reflect on the definition of what the EPA calls life. I mean it is true the US EPA intervenes in invoking scientifically based standards that improve the quality of life of Americans. What they have to go through in real life scenarios when a governor becomes difficult to deal with or an American is polluting water calls upon to them defend the rulings made that have received public comment; either through courts of US law or with side arms.
What gives the US EPA the right to conduct any of this other than a law? Well, the idea that poisoning in everyday life is immoral is not difficult to understand. The USA, no different than other country records citizen's longevity and for the most part, tries to sustain that life in a way called longevity.
So, how is all that important morality and longevity measured to understand when poisons in our environment are harmful? There is a concept and I do not doubt there will be many offended by the thought, but, each American life is assigned a value. That value quantifies life for the sake of government action. It is called, "The value of statistical life."
There comes a point in a country when it can't defend its own borders due to a lack of population. If a poison were to enter the American environment as they did when "The Clean Air Act" and "Clean Water Act" was first legislated and passed into law; there could be a worse case scenario whereby something of that nature actually happened. There have been severe polluting events, such as the water pollution in recent years in West Virginia, that require vigilance past the event and the institutional measures to stop the event and provide relief. In West Virginia, the relief came in the way of clean water.
Such a scenario occurred in Flint, Michigan when lead was allowed to exist in the water causing deaths, including unplanned abortions and brain damage to children. If that was allowed to exist in the USA, we would be seeing vast problems in even simple functions of a society. A stark example is the HIV pandemic that struck Africa and wiped out entire adult populations.
So, in understanding government has an interest in preventing pollution and danger to American's environment, there is a quantity as I mentioned above called, "The value of statistical life." There is a dollar amount applied to it and the basis of such value has been adopted by the US EPA a long time ago.
EPA recommends (click here) that the central estimate of $7.4 million ($2006), updated to the year of the analysis, be used in all benefits analyses that seek to quantify mortality risk reduction benefits regardless of the age, income, or other population characteristics of the affected population until revised guidance becomes available (see "What is the current process for updating the Agency's estimates?” below). This approach was vetted and endorsed by the Agency when the 2000 Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses were drafted. Although $7.4 million ($2006) remains EPA's default guidance for valuing mortality risk changes, the Agency has considered and presented others (see "What Values Has EPA Used in the Past?"
By now, I think readers are getting the idea.
The US EPA in fact recommends this value to evalute the impact on Americans. The point to this, is that Dan Rather through his reference of the US EPA and armed agents, caused me to reflect on the value of human life and what causes armed agents to approach an American's home. In other words, "The value of statistical life" weighs heavy when one American is polluting the waters of so many others. Many claim land ownership is absolute, that is not the case if endangering the lives of others.
It is my opinion that Scott Pruitt is not abiding by long-standing measure at the US EPA and is completely incompetent to conduct the work of the USA EPA. I believe strongly he brushes aside "The value of statistical life" as no other director of the US EPA has ever done before. When Christine Todd Whitman was Secretary of the US EPA she stated clearly her administration would be upholding standards that provide Americans with the quality of life, because, the lives effected could be any American and it is not permissible at any level.
Therefore, the defunding of the US EPA is not only gross negligence, it is hostile to the sovereignty of the USA. These practices in the US EPA and other cabinet offices are vital to the well being and future of all Americans. It is time to shut down the Trump administration for breaking the law!
One more important thing, Scott Pruitt is applying his own "God Standard" to the operations of the EPA. That standard is unknown, arbitrary and discriminatory of other faiths. He cannot vow to honor only God. He is sworn to uphold the well being of the American people by the standards laid out for him to do so. He is not only incompetent, he is arrogant and unwilling to conduct those standards to insure the well being of Americans.
