The EPA, Corruption, and Conflict of Interest

The EPA is charged with protecting the air and water quality, among other environmental efforts, yet corruption and conflict of interest are so ingrained in the agency that it really only effects the industries and companies not large enough to simply buy in, installing their own agents in the agency. A quick Google search will help shed some light on the issue. I wish we could trust these industries to self-regulate, but that is no more likely than to expect the regulatory bodies to be free of corruption. Either way, the populace is left out of the process, mostly willfully.

The EPA has a history of exempting large industry leaders from the Clean Air and Water Acts. It's simply a matter of money, dirty money. It's not that standards for protecting the environment should not exist, it is that the system of governance we have in most developed nations allows those companies and industries with the resources to simply invest in government, getting their own lobbyists and employees into regulatory positions. It's a revolving door sometimes, with individuals going back and forth between the industries and the agency charged with regulating them. It's not just the energy industry (fracking, lobbyists), it's agriculture as well. Many industries are in bed with the regulatory bodies charged with keeping them in line.

These reasons are why I support education of the population, rather than obedience to the State. When the populace holds the authority, rather than a select few, corruptible individuals, then we have more of a chance of making positive change on issues like the environment.

Part of the reason for my angst of the situation is that so many become complacent, believing that those elected or appointed are doing what the populace believes is best. The political Left is just as corrupt on these sort of issues as the Right. I honestly can't tell the difference anymore beyond the little letter after the politicians' names.

Left and Right are both Wrong.