There’s a country song for every occasion and situation.
Ray Charles moaned, “Here we go again.”
Lorrie Morgan asked, “What part of no don’t you understand?”
I could name a hundred more, but Jerry Reed best sums up the looming environmental crisis. His comical lyrics “She got the gold mine. I got the shaft” describe what’s about to get worse with our natural resources.
In this scenario, there’s nothing funny. With a we-will-worry-about-that-later attitude, responsible environmental stewardship is taking a backseat to corporate bottom lines.
There is a litany of examples.
Here’s just one: toxic coal ash.
By now, you would think the coal burners would care about the poisonous mess that they have made and are continuing to make.
Georgia Power and its peers couldn’t be happier.
In 2019 the state’s largest utility announced that it was stepping away from coal for less harmful fuel sources. We applauded them. Now, Georgia Power says that it must step up burning coal to meet the electricity demand created by the tsunami of mega-data centers washing over us.
The double downside of that news is that there will be more dangerous waste piled into Georgia Power’s already-leaking and polluting coal-ash ponds.
And why are coal burners so giddy and clicking their heels?
President Trump has made it clear that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be rolling back protective guardrails, ignoring its original mission. A mission of making sure we drink clean water, breathe clean air and plant our crops in clean soil.
But hold on.
Shortly after his November victory, our second-term president promised America would have the cleanest air and water on the planet.
Hear, hear!
But hold on, again.
In the same flurry of political rhetoric—before moving back into the White House—the president-elect chanted, “Drill, baby, drill!” Apparently, that’s where his heart really is. His environmental initiatives don’t reflect carrying out the promise of the cleanest air, water and dirt.
That’s worrisome to the tune of “Here we go again.”
And in Georgia, that’s all the encouragement our industrial polluters need. History reflects that Georgia Power—for example—already gets its way without EPA interference.
Do you remember Lefty Frizzell’s country classic “If You’ve Got the Money (I’ve Got the Time)”? Georgia Power and its parent, the Southern Company, are among the nation’s biggest spenders on influence peddling. With their money, the utility makes sure that state and federal lawmakers have “the time” to listen.
A VW Beetle could transport our Gold Dome leaders and Georgia Public Service commissioners who dare to ask the industrial giant, “What part of no don’t you understand?”
Up in Washington, the EPA previously allowed Georgia, Texas and Oklahoma to establish its own governance of toxic coal-ash handling. Thus, the Peach State’s Environmental Protection Division (EPD) has allowed Georgia Power to ignore what makes environmental common sense—drain every coal-ash pond. Put the waste in safe, dry storage for future beneficial recycling.
And that brings me to President Trump’s March 4 address to Congress. I listened to every word, and I printed his transcript.
Here’s an excerpt: “Over the past six weeks, I have signed nearly 100 executive orders and taken more than 400 executive actions, a record to restore common sense, safety, optimism and wealth across our wonderful land.”
Yes, Mr. President, America is a wonderful land.
And the majority would like to keep it that way.
But if you cripple the EPA, common sense will not rule.
We cannot be optimistic that our people and our natural resources will be safe.
Polluters will get wealthier with the “gold mine.”
And American citizens will get “the shaft.”
dnesmith@cninewspapers.com
