Lead, mercury and arsenic in the drinking water of our children from leaking coal sludge, of which everyone whose job it is to monitor such things says there are many other sites in danger of similar leakage. So much for George W.’s plans for industry voluntary standards and self-policing.

Those of us who are concerned about these ever-present dangers are labeled "Environmental Wackos" by those on the political right and the sheep who call themselves "Ditto Heads." We are derided as extremists who are only out to quash big business. Al Gore is disparagingly called "Nature Boy" by the viscerally hateful Rush Limbaugh in his incessant railings and character assassination. The local "Mini-Rushes" protest "Oh, come on" when such fears are brought up, insisting that big coal and oil companies are only concerned with providing good employment, and that they are just as concerned with the health of our environment as we are.

If we elect George W. and maintain a Republican majority in Congress, our environmental laws will be gutted in favor of the short-sighted, profit driven power brokers, and the destruction of our environment, and the curse on the health of our children will be our legacy.

Elliot M. Namay, Jr.

As published in the Charleston Gazette, October, 2000