Aha!

It just occurred to me, after reading this article Use of Toxic Acid Puts Millions At Risk, that the "enemy" that so many of us are chasing after in the dark is often in our own backyards, invited and barely regulated. The enemy is not a muslim living half the world away, the enemy is not the government (Tea Partiers, it's just not that easy,) simply because WE ARE the government (or at least we would be if we lived up to our responsibilities as citizens of a democratic republic.)

The enemy is (certain) corporations. The system of capitalism has allowed certain corporations, especially the oil and gas industries, to run around our home - this LAND upon which our homes are built, our water is tapped from, our children play upon- with toxic chemicals.

Our representative government is relying on old standards of "safety" to push regulations on these industries, but if the DRBC's recently published regulations for hydraulic fracturing (still open to public comment, btw) are any indication, protections are simply not strong enough to protect the American people from chemical warfare attacks being perpetrated upon us by the corporations we allow into our backyards.

As for the DRBC and hydraulic fracturing, I'll address that in an upcoming post. 15 million people's drinking water depends on those regulations. And according to Carol (Collier?), per her statement as a representative for the DRBC at the DRBC's hearing for public comments at the Trenton War Memorial on Thursday, February 24th 2011, it IS still possible to STOP all hydraulic fracturing from taking place in the watershed of the Delaware River that the DRBC was created to protect. All it takes is people speaking up, sending a piece of paper with some words on it to the DRBC. I'll help you do this later.

In the mean time, it's good to have identified the "enemy." I'm by no means saying that ALL corporations are the enemy. Only those that are playing with toxic chemicals in our backyard without doing everything possible in their power to avoid poisoning us with those chemicals. So, unless a cloud of hydrofluoric acid comes your way, I recommend breathing like your life depends on it.