Shaw's Eco-Logic

In my latest HND piece, I take a look at how chemophobia is rapidly becoming the dominant motivation of the EPA. Indeed, one of the first things the agency did—to their everlasting shame—was to ban DDT.

Back in the day, though, they could at least dilute that travesty with positive acts toward cleaning up the air and water. Unfortunately, long about 1985, when all the big problems were pretty much taken care of, the agency could devote more time to "potential" problems. That's when the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976 really spread its wings.

A recent ratcheting up of this war on chemicals are the so-called Chemical Action Plans. Many chemicals that have been widely used without ill effects for decades are now targeted. While that's good news in terms of job security for the EPA bureaucrats as well as the lobbyists and lawyers on the other side, it's bad news for everyone else.

Read the complete article.